Fated Reasons
by Anomilee
Summary: Prequel to Before He Was One. Will cover how House and Cuddy first met and everything leading up to Before He Was One. Don't have to read BHWO to understand this one since it is a prequel. Rated T for now but will be M later.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay I still don't own any of the characters from the show House M.D. You know who they are so I shouldn't need to clarify.**

* * *

**"Fated Reasons"**

**Prologue**

It had been a quiet first few weeks of college for Lisa Cuddy. She was an eighteen year old freshman at the University of Michigan, and seemed to be adjusting well to college life. That's probably because she was so happy about leaving the stressful environment of her parents' home. She was premed, and her parents hated that. They wanted her to marry her current so called boyfriend, Scott, and let him support her while she stayed home, being the good little house wife, cooking and cleaning and popping out how ever many kids he wanted. Not that she saw anything wrong with that. She wanted to be a wife and a mother one day, but she also wanted to become a doctor. And she didn't see anything wrong with that either. Scott wasn't even really her boyfriend, though almost everyone they knew tried to push them into a relationship. He liked her and wanted her to be his girlfriend, but she had made it perfectly clear to him that they were just friends. He was a nice guy, and he was fun to hang out with, but she just wasn't into him like that. The only two reasons her father had agreed to fund her college education is because her mother nagged him so much about it and he felt that since her and Scott were going to the same school, it would give him more time to sweep her off of her feet and make her 'come to her senses.'

She was doing well in all of her classes, so far, and the material came quite easy to her in most of her classes. Her biology class was starting to get a little tricky though, not that she couldn't catch on to the material, it was just a little harder for her to catch on to at the rate the teacher was teaching. By the time she had fully grasped one concept, he was already halfway through the next. It was challenging, but that was part of the reason she had chose to go into medicine. It interested her and everything else that sparked her interest seemed to come a little too easy.

The cool October air was crisp against her exposed skin as she stepped out of the building that housed her dorm room for the first time in hours to go and meet her friends Rebecca and Kelly at a little café right off campus called The Lunar Café . They had made her promise to meet them there that evening after seeing that she had been studying all day the day before and hadn't left her room, other than to attend class and get something to eat. But what could she do? Midterms were fast approaching and she wanted to ace all of them. Now she wasn't always all about books, she had her wild side too, which she showed as often as she felt possible, which was rarely now. She was serious when it came to her school work, and didn't want to jeopardize her goal in anyway. So on many nights, she opted for the books instead of the parties, which she figured was only until she got the full swing of this college thing. Then she could go back to having a more active social life.

She walked into the coffee shop and did a quick search for her friends before she spotted two familiar girls waving at her from a booth towards the back of the building. She smiled upon spotting them and walked over to them. Kelly scooted over so she could sit next to her and they began their usual conversation about school, boys , home, or whatever came to their minds.

* * *

He sat slouched on the sofa with the remote in his hand, flipping absent mindedly through the channels of the television. It had been a few weeks since he had started his second year of med school, but he was sulking a little about having been kicked out of Johns Hopkins. He had been fine the first few weeks he was at the new school, but it was really starting to get to him in the last week that had passed. It was completely his fault that he had gotten kicked out, after cheating off of some guy, but he felt that they should have over looked it. He had done perfectly well on all of his other tests by himself, all the time in the top ten percent of his class. They could have easily forgiven him for being a little too hung over to actually try to remember the information he would have had no problem remembering on any other non-hangover day. Although they didn't know he was hung over. That was probably one of the reasons he was able to get into another school so quickly. He should have considered himself lucky getting into a school as good as Michigan, but he was still a little bitter about the whole thing.

"Com'on man," the shorter slender boy said standing next to the television he was looking at. "You've been upset about this for a whole week. Suck it up and count your losses. Get out of the apartment for a couple of hours and come down to The Lunar Café before we hit the books again."

He only glanced at his friend before turning back to the television. He was lucky to have known some friends that had gotten into Michigan's med school the same year he had gotten into Hopkins. This made finding somewhere to live so quickly much easier, and allowed him to get settled in time enough for school to start. He had called Danny as soon as he found out the university would allow him to transfer as a second year, and luckily the boy's old roommate had just gotten engaged and was now living in another apartment with his fiancé.

"The girls have been asking about you," he said in a persuading voice. "Especially Karen. I think you can bag her if you would just get your ass off of the sofa and actually get out of the house."

He looked back at the boy, contemplating what he was saying. There was still one good thing about Michigan, which was also a good thing about Hopkins and would probably be a good thing anywhere he went, at least he hoped so. The girls were hot, and most of them, if not all of them, seemed to fall head over heals for him. What better position to be in as a twenty-three year old man. He guessed it was the 'bad boy' persona that followed him where ever he went. Who knew getting into it with a few professors, a dean, and a few doctors could have such a boost to one's social life and love life. He didn't mind though. He had a huge ego, and his reputation was causing just about everyone around him to feed into it. And everyone who wasn't feeding into it, just didn't seem to like him for one reason or another, but he didn't care about that. It was nice to be known among people you didn't even know as 'The Legend-Greg House'.

"What the hell?" he said getting off of the couch and walking towards the hall. "Let me put some clothes on."

He went into his room and put on one of his infamous band T-shirts over a long sleeved shirt and walked out of the room, hoping to run into Karen.

"You're buying," he told Danny as he walked past him and out of the apartment.  
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When they got to café, they each ordered a sandwich and a drink before finding a table in the back of the building. They didn't really talk bout anything out of the usual, medical issues, girls, other guy things and anything that came to their minds. They began eating once the waitress brought them their food. Now focusing on the subject of Karen, who hadn't made a show yet at the café, something suddenly caught his attention as he saw a blond and a red head waving towards the front of the building as if waving someone over. He looked towards them then the direction they were motioning, and saw the face of the most beautiful girl he had seen since he had started at the school, or ever for that matter. She had long dark brown curly hair, and a pair of the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. He couldn't really tell if they were grey or blue, or possibly green…and she had a beautiful smile to go along with them. He kind of zoned out a little and hadn't noticed it until Danny called it to his attention.

"Ahhh," the boy said turning around to find the reason his friend had stopped listening to him. He pried his eyes away from her, not wanting to seem lame for gawking at a girl he didn't even know. "Nice. Pretty. But I can't really see her body under that sweat shirt."

The boy turned back to him with a smile on his face. "Seems like a good lay," he said. "Looks to be a freshman, so should be an easy lay."

"Every lay is easy for me," he told his friend with a hint of cockiness in his tone.

"This seems to be true," the boy said with a laugh. "So you gonna go talk to her."

Greg didn't answer, his attention was drawn back to the brown haired girl as she slid the sweat shirt over her head, revealing her well toned, feminine body. She had on a navy blue and gold U. of Mich. T-shirt that fit her much more snugger than the sweatshirt had. Danny turned his attention back her way just as she got up and walked over to the counter to order, revealing fully the bottom half that went so well with her perfect top half. They both watched as she leaned on the counter a little trying to decide what she wanted, making the shirt rise a little and show a little of her well toned stomach. Greg eyed the little piece of her exposed flesh that he could and his eyes traveled further south, only imaging what he couldn't see under the fitted jeans that hugged her feminine hips and her slender and what he imagined to be her well toned thighs and legs.

"Dude forget about Karen," Danny said turning back to him, with his mouth wide open. "You should definitely try to bag her."

He just looked from his friend and back to the girl studying her.

"If you're not let me know and I will," Danny added after he didn't respond.

A smirk came across his face as he watched her tuck some of her wild curls behind her ear, and finally decided on an order. At that point, he didn't so much regret getting kicked out of Hopkins. Michigan was definitely going to be well worth his time.

* * *

**A/N: Okay the rating is T for now but it will be changing to M very soon. Let me know what you guys think so far.**


	2. Chapter 1

She paid the cashier and turned around headed back towards the table where her friends were sitting. She did not take a full step, however, before colliding with something hard and warm.

"Oh, sorry," she said, not really looking into the face of the person who she had just bumped into, mainly because she was eye level with his chest. She regretted apologizing quickly, after she realized that it was his fault for standing so closely behind her. She was about to walk around him, but he stopped her by placing his hands on her hips, and holding her in her place.

This made her look up at him. She stared at him with a half annoyed half confused expression on her face, as he smirked down at her.

"Don't be sorry," he told her. "I actually kinda liked it."

The confusion left her face as she became fully annoyed. "Do I know you?" she asked, as she removed his hands from her hips. He smiled inwardly. It was good to know that she hadn't already been warned about him.

"Greg House," he said extending his hand to her. "And you are?"

"Not interested," she said coldly before rolling her eyes and walking past him.

He quickly drew back his hand, not wanting anyone to see that he had just gotten played, as he turned and watched her walk back to the table and join her friends. He looked back to the table that Danny was at and the boy's mouth was opened in disbelief. The boy just shrugged his shoulders, expecting his friend to come back and join him. Instead Greg decided to follow Lisa back to the table with her friends. He pulled up a chair from the table across from them and sat at the end of the table.

"House, " he said introducing himself with a smile, as he extended his hand to the red head. He figured the two girls wouldn't know him either, since their friend didn't. She looked at her friends across from her and furrowed her brow in confusion before reluctantly placing her hand in his.

"Becca," she said with an unsure, yet amused smile. He studied her face quickly. She was a pretty girl, long red hair, green eyes and the cutest little freckles splayed over her nose. He then turned to the blond.

"Hou-," he started extending his hand.

"Greg House," she interrupted him with a smile. "I know who you are. I'm Kelly," she finished also taking his hand.

He wasn't sure if it was a good thing that Kelly had heard of him or not. He decided it couldn't be too much of a bad thing being that she smiled at him, shook his hand, and actually introduced herself. She was also a pretty girl, with shorter blond hair and crystal blue eyes, a little lighter than his own. None of the girls, however, came anywhere close to being as beautiful or hot as their friend, whose name he still hadn't gotten.

"Are you going to hit on my friends now?" the brown haired girl asked him, obviously annoyed by his presence. He smiled at her, but ignored her and turned back to her friends.

"Now that we know each other," he said turning back to the blond and the red head, "would you mind introducing me to your friend."

She just glared at him as he continued to smile at her. Kelly took it upon herself to do the introductions, since she had already known more about House than the other two girls.

"House this is Lisa Cuddy," she said motioning towards her friend, "Lisa this is Greg House. The guy I was telling you about."

"Nice to meet you," he tried again.

"Wish I could say the same," she answered back. He made a sad face, pretending that he was hurt by her comment, but the truth was, she was only encouraging him by 'playing hard to get', as he would call it. It would only make the sex so much better for him, hearing her scream his name, knowing that she had rejected him so adamantly before.

"So," he continued, with renewed enthusiasm. "What are we getting into tonight?"

The blond and the red head just looked at each other with intrigued smiles, while Lisa looked at him in disbelief. Had he really just invited himself along to spend the rest of the night with her and her friends?

"Thanks," she said quietly, breaking her stare off with him as the waitress placed the food in front of her.

"So you do have manners," he said turning his attention back to her. "Why aren't you that nice to me?"

She rolled he eyes at him. She didn't really have anything against him, but she was still annoyed by the way he had approached her at the counter. She rolled her eyes at him and started to eat her food.

"What's up man?" she heard another male voice say. "You just gonna leave me hanging like that?"

She looked up to see a hansom, black haired, brown eyed boy. He was slender like his friend, but seemed a little less muscular than him.

"Sorry," Greg said, before beginning to point out the girls. "Danny this is Becca, Kelly, and Lisa…" he said letting her name linger on his lips a little longer than the other girls'. She noticed it, but ignored him, knowing he was just trying to get to her. "This is Danny," he finished after not getting a response from her.

"Ladies," Danny said with a smile. "May I?" he asked turning to Becca.

"Sure," she said scooting over so he could take a seat next to her in the booth.

Lisa sat quietly finishing her food, joining in occasionally as the others around her picked up a conversation. She was thankful that Danny was more humble than his friend. She had fun getting out of her room for the evening, but figured she would have had more fun if it wasn't for Greg and the witty remarks he geared towards her, that she figured were meant to be compliments. She excused herself, after about an hour and a half, figuring she should get back to her books. Surprisingly Greg offered to walk back with her, since it had started getting dark, but she declined. So he offered that they all go back together, knowing that she was declining only because it was him.

Once they reached the door to the suite that she shared with the other two girls, she went straight to her room to work on her paper, leaving them in the common living area. She had been in her room for about thirty minutes, before she heard a soft knock on the door. She looked up from the paper on her desk and over to the door, that was starting to open slowly.

"Can I come in?" Greg asked as he peeked in from the other side of the door.

"No," she said plainly turning back to the paper on her desk.

"Thanks," he said coming in anyway.

He closed the door behind him and looked around the dimly lit room. There was a small bed in the far corner of the room and right under the window next to it was a small bookshelf that was filled with what seemed to be books for school, and other books that she seemed to be reading on her own. He smiled seeing that they already had one thing in common. There was an identical bookshelf next to the door that housed a stereo on its top shelf and a few trinkets and pictures. The walls were filled with posters and more pictures. She sat at a small desk on the wall opposite the bed, not acknowledging his presence. Her face was serious as she looked from the book to the page she was writing on. She leaned on the desk with her right elbow, and rested her head against her right hand that was strewn through her hair holding the curls out of her face.

"Do you always look so serious when you're doing school work?" he asked her.

"Do you always feel up random strangers then barge into their bedrooms?" she asked not taking her eyes away from the book.

"Only on good nights," he said. He smiled when he saw her fight against the smile that threatened her face.

"So you do have a sense of humor," he said walking over to the bed and taking a seat.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

"You."

"'Sorry," she replied quickly, not fazed by the bluntness of his flirting. "Not an option."

"Why not?"

"Not my type."

"I'm everybody's type."

"Exactly," she said turning around to face him with a sarcastic smile.

He looked at her for a while studying her, before speaking. "Ohh, I get it. You can't handle the competition."

"I can handle the competition just fine," she told him. "I just don't want to."

"Hmph," he said thoughtfully, before studying the books on the bookshelf closer. "Biology…Premed?"

"Yup," she told him, turning back to her paper.

'Two things in common,' he thought to himself. "Need any help studying?"

"If I do, you'll be the last person I call."

"Why?" he asked with a small chuckle. "I'm actually pretty good at this stuff."

"Yeah I heard. I also heard how you got kicked out of Hopkins."

"But I got into Hopkins," he told her reminding her of the fact. "I also got into Michigan."

"Let me guess," she said turning around to face him. "I guess the next thing you plan on getting into is my pants."

He waggled his brow suggestively, letting her know he was okay with it if she was.

"I think you should leave," she told him. She got up and opened the door for him. He stared at her for a little while before getting up and walking out. He turned around to say something, but she closed the door in his face, locking it.

* * *

The next couple of weeks went by without them crossing paths again. Danny had called them to come over a couple of times, but she had declined, letting her friends go without her. She figured Greg had given up since she hadn't heard from him. She had learned a lot more about him from Kelly and Becca. The guy was actually a pretty brilliant doctor. Well not a doctor, because he hadn't graduated med school yet, but he was well on his way. It was a shame, she thought, that such brilliance was wasted on such an asshole… a pretty nice body too. After the anger had subsided that night, she couldn't help but to remember how good he looked, and how good his body felt the night she had bumped into him in the café. Luckily, she could see through all of that and not get caught up in him like all the other girls he came across.

It was the first day of midterm week and Lisa was coming out of one test, and on her way to the library to study. She was walking across the crowded campus, navigating around the skateboarders, large crowds, and everything else going on around her. She was walking too fast and missed her step and was about to fall flat on her face. She dropped all of her books, as she prepared to catch herself, but instead, felt a strong arm around her waist keeping her from hitting the ground. She was a little embarrassed, but thankful for the arm and its owner for saving her from either further embarrassment.

"Watch it," she heard a familiar voice say, making her look up to see who it was. She was met with a pair of familiar blue eyes. His expression grew a little more serious, as he realized who she was.

"Thanks," she said quietly, cheeks turning read at the fact that someone she actually knew witnessed her little accident. She leaned on him to straighten herself up before pulling herself out of his arms. She bent down to pick up her books, and he stooped to help her.

"You should really be more careful, Lisa," he said emphasizing her name with a smile.

"Hey Lisa," Danny said, making her notice the crowd of people Greg had been standing with. "What's up?"

"Sadly midterms," she said turning her attention back to Greg, whose eyes were still fixated on her.

"Haven't seen you in awhile," he told her.

"Well I'm just that lucky," she responded.

"Greg," another girl said walking up to them, obviously not comfortable with the way he was staring at the other girl. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

She wrapped one arm around his waist and put the other on his chest pressing her body against his, as if claiming her territory. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her. She was a pretty girl with long dark blonde hair that was pulled up into a ponytail. She had green eyes, a small nose and thin lips. Despite her attractive features, she obviously felt a little threatened by Lisa. Probably because Greg wasn't too quick to let go of her when he caught her.

"Uhh," he started, finally taking his eyes away from Lisa. "Karen this is Lisa. Lisa, Karen."

"Nice to meet you," Lisa said with a smile as she extended her hand to the girl.

"Same here," she replied with a not so genuine smile.

"Well I have to go," Lisa said gesturing to the books in her hands. "I've got four more tests this week."

She turned around and started again towards the library, unaware of the eyes on her as she walked away.

"Huh?" he said turning to Karen after hearing her call his name in a not so nice tone. From the look on her face, he figured that he had been unintentionally ignoring her as he watched Lisa leave.

"I said where do you know her from?" she asked letting him know that she was repeating herself and she wasn't pleased about it.

"She's friends with some girls Danny met at the café," he told her, converting the truth, then decided to change the subject. "So are we still on for tonight."

* * *

She walked up the steps of the library a little flustered, by the biology test she had gotten back earlier that day. She had failed her midterm. Luckily for her the test didn't count for much more percentage points than the other tests had. But it still counted for a lot and she had some serious work to do in order to make up for it. She would start by going to the library and reviewing all the concepts she had gotten wrong on the mid term. She went up to the fourth floor of the library and found a spot next to the wall in one of the many secluded cubicles throughout the room. She sat down quietly with her cup of coffee, knowing she would be there for a while. She went into her bag and pulled out her notes, her biology book, and the test she had just gotten back. She pulled out a thin gray jacket and put it on trying to warm herself against the coolness of the room.

Two hours later she was still sitting in the same spot, growing more frustrated, having not made it half way through the test. She silently cursed her high school for being so easy to the point she never had to study. She knew that the material shouldn't be that hard, but she wasn't used to studying. Everything always came easy to her, so she never had to study. She wished she had those study skills now. She felt like she was reviewing aimlessly, as nothing was sticking the way she wanted it to. She was about to give up when a sudden unwanted, but definitely needed distraction pulled up a chair on side of her.

"Hey," he said not really trying to be quiet. "How's it going?"

She looked at him, knowing she should have been annoyed by his loudness, but a little to frustrated with herself to really care.

"Not good," she mumbled in a whisper.

"What's wrong?" he asked, drawing a bunch of shushes from the people around them.

She didn't say anything and handed him her test. He looked it over for a minute before placing it back on the desk in front of her.

"So?" he said rather loudly.

"So?" she questioned growing more frustrated by his dismissive attitude towards the subject. "I failed my biology test."

"I got kicked out of med school, remember?" he replied.

"Yeah, well at least you got there," she said disappointedly turning back to the books.

"Are you dumb?" he asked her, already knowing the answer. He had managed to go through some of her previous test papers the night they had went back to her dorm room.

"What?" she asked not really noticing her tone any more. The guy in the cubicle across from her shot them an angry glare and she apologized as he repeated himself.

"Are you dumb?" he repeated. "Are you an idiot?"

"No, I'm not an idiot," she told him. "And keep your voice down."

"Then why are you sitting here acting like you are?" he asked her.

"I'm not...," she started but he cut her off.

"Yes you are," he told her. "You're sitting here kicking yourself and telling yourself that you aren't smart enough to get into medical school. And if you aren't smart enough to get into medical school, its obvious you're not smart enough to be a doctor."

She just stared at him, knowing he had a point.

"You can not be an idiot, and still not be smart enough to be a doctor," she informed him.

"I know that, but I think you're smart enough," he told her.

"Sorry to disappoint you," she said, "but I'm going to have a hard time getting into med school after failing biology."

"You haven't failed biology," he told her. She didn't reply, she just stared at the book, not really reading anything from it. She was feeling sorry for herself, and he hated seeing people like that. He didn't like it when people played the 'victim role'.

"Com'on," he said closing her book and stacking her notes and the test on top of it.

"What?... Where are we going?" she asked him, as he took her hand and pulled her up out of her seat. She grabbed her backpack and started to walk with him.

"Since you've probably been in here forever, we're going to get something to eat, then we're going to come back here and I'm going to help you study," he said still holding her hand as he led them out of the library.


	3. Chapter 2

"Your problem is you study too much," he said stuffing a few more fries into his mouth. "You worry about your grades too much, and you take school too seriously."

"Really?" she asked watching him as he devoured the rest of the food that was on his plate. "Because I can't really see how that's a problem."

"Because you're too anal to se…" he started but she cut him off.

"I'm not anal," she told him offended by his comment. "How can you say that I'm anal? You barely know me."

"How many parties have you been too this semester?" he asked her.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm showing you my point," he told her.

She looked at him incredulously, before replying, "Two."

"How many weekends have you spent not studying and just hanging out?"

"I hang out with my friends all the time," she told him trying to avoid answering the question.

"Yeah, but how many weekends have you not picked up a book, and just… relaxed, just… lived life," he asked her.

She stared at him starting to get what he was saying. "None," she said quietly.

"My point exactly," was his reply.

"I still don't understand how that would help me to pass my classes," she said in her defense.

"You don't give your brain time to digest what you study, you just keep stuffing information in, which makes your recall abilities and your actual learning abilities function below optimal level."

She looked at him not really understanding what he was trying to say. Well she understood what he was saying she just didn't think it was a valid concept. He read the uncertainty on her face and decided to explain it another way.

"Let me phrase it like this," he started. "If you stuff yourself full of food do you feel like going out and jogging after or going to sleep?"

"Sleep," she told him, not sure of where he was going with this.

"Okay, so stuffing yourself makes you lazier. Obese people that have just stuffed themselves don't usually go to the gym or go out jogging, because they are stuffed, they are too full, they can't do anything. Whereas people who eat to contentment can go out and jog and do work, then they come back for more later on. They don't just sit there and stuff themselves. Your brain works the same way. You can't just stuff it full of information with no jogging intervals, hint hint, fun, and expect it to function like its supposed to."

Before she could reply to him and his metaphor, she spotted a familiar blond walking towards them, not looking too pleased. He continued to stuff his face and she made eye contact with the girl. She didn't know why she held the girl's stare, because Karen was obviously trying to stake her territory by staring her down. She finally looked away realizing she had no claim, nor did she think she wanted any, to the guy sitting across the table from her. She started to pick at the left overs of her salad as the girl walked up to the table.

"Hi," she said giving both of them a fake smile, adding a glare to it as she looked at Lisa.

"Hey," Greg said looking up at her quickly before taking a sip of his soda. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said still holding on to her not so cheery smile. "I thought you told me you were going home and sleep."

"I was, but I ran into Lisa," he told her, "and I told her I would help her study."

"Oh," the girl said not liking that idea. Usually when he helped her study, there was no real studying going on. She had to think of something quick. "Can I join you guys?"

He chuckled. "You're not even taking the class. You hate 'sciency stuff'," he said making quotations in the air to remind her that those were her words.

"I can study something else, while you study for your science class," she offered.

"I don't think so," he said still a little amused by the idea. He had already found out that the girl had bad study habits. She would always interrupt him, for something stupid most of the time, making the entire study session useless. "But I'll catch up with you later on tonight."

She stared at him and then at Lisa who was now absentmindedly staring at the other people in the restaurant. "Okay," she told him hesitantly. "But you better call me."

Lisa looked over as she saw the girl bend down bringing her face closer to Greg's, she put her hands on his face and started what she would call a make out session with him. She frowned in disgust as she watched them suck on each others face. She knew the girl was just doing it for show, to make a point. She didn't pull back until he reached his hand around her and squeezed her butt. The girl stood straight and shot him a seductive smile.

"Bye Lisa," she said before walking away, confident she had made her statement after seeing her watching them.

She just watched the girl, still with a look of disgust as she walked away.

"Jealous?" he asked in a flirty tone.

"More like sick to my stomach," she told him.

"Well if it makes you feel better I can let you have your way with me too."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"So kissing disgusts you?" he asked her.

"No," she corrected, "making out in public does."

"Wanna go back to my room then?"

"Shut up," she told him, getting up from the table, grabbing her books and getting ready to go back to the library. "You're supposed to be helping me study, so help me."

A smile appeared on his face as he watched her butt as she walked away. He quickly grabbed his bag and caught up with her. He grabbed her books out of her hands, then leaned down so his mouth was close to her ear. "Don't worry, you're ass looks much better than hers." He then slapped her on the butt hard enough to make her let out a small yelp, and continued walking with a smile on his face as she stopped and stared at him shocked by what he had just done. 'She's definitely going to be a loud one,' he thought to himself as he walked out of the restaurant towards the library, knowing she would follow as soon as she overcame the shock, he had her books.

She watched as he walked out of the building and disappeared around the corner. She couldn't believe that he had just kissed a girl in front of her and was now openly flirting with her. Her mind was telling her to just go back to her room and study and stay away from him, but she followed him towards the library anyway, especially after realizing she couldn't study without her books. She figured she could handle him and his flirty behavior, figuring she wouldn't get caught up in him since she knew what he was all about. After all, it was all in good fun. He had a girlfriend, and he knew she knew that, so he couldn't be serious when he flirted with her…could he? 'This is ridiculous Lisa,' she thought to her self. 'Of course he's not serious.'

When she got to the library, she found him at a cubical in the back of the room. He had a serious look on his face as he went over her test, trying to see what questions she had missed. He wasn't bad looking, she thought when he was serious about something, or when he wasn't being a jackass.

"What took you so long?" he asked with a smile before patting the seat next to him. She rolled her eyes at him and sat down. He already had her books and notes spread out on the table. "Electron transport chain…," he said jumping right into the lesson.

She paid attention, but she still found it hard to believe that he could change gears so quickly. She had also never seen him so focused on something… well other than a girl's butt or her breasts. From the things he had told her when they had had lunch she thought that he just blew everything off including school. But clearly this was something that held his interest, something he enjoyed.  
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"So you're coming to the party Friday," he told her.

"What party?" she asked him.

"One of my friend's. Becca and Kelly are coming."

"I never said…," she started it, but he interrupted her.

"I know you never said you were coming, but you should," he told her. "Or has our little life lesson been overshadowed by our school lessons?"

She stood thinking about it for a while. "Plus if you don't go I might have to withdraw my awesome tutoring lessons," he added.

She didn't really think he was serious, and she hoped he wasn't. Their little study session had actually been quite helpful. She learned and remembered more in those few hours than she ever had in double the amount of time studying by herself.

"I'll think about it," she told him before unlocking the door to her dorm suite.

"Becca, Kells," he said greeting the two girls, he had befriended.

"Hey Greg. What's up?" Kelly asked him as she removed a pan of brownies from the oven. She threw the tray on the counter and waved her left hand after she felt the heat from the pain start to sink into her fingers.

"Lisa," he told her. "She's being a buzz kill."

"Again?" Becca asked loud enough so she could hear from her room.

"Shut up Becca," she yelled back.

"You guys should talk her into coming to the party."

"I told you I'd think about it," Lisa said walking back into the living room, now wearing a pair of baggy sweats and a pull over with the school's name on it.

"You should come Lise," Kelly told her.

"Why?"

"Because Greg wants you to," Becca said jokingly.

"You can't get a better reason than that," he said grabbing a brownie out of the pan.

"Whatever," she said joining Becca on the sofa.

"Okay ladies," he said grabbing a few more brownies. "It's been fun, but I gotta go, or else I'll be late for my second class tomorrow."

He gave each of them a hug, letting his hands roam a little on Lisa before she pushed him away.

"Alright I'll see you guy's later," he said laughing a little along with Kelly and Becca before leaving out of their dorm.

"God. He's so hot," Becca said.

"I know," Kelly agreed. "Lisa you should definitely go out with him."

"I'm not going to go out with him," she told them. "He has a girlfriend."

"Well he's obviously interested in you," Kelly told her. "I wish he was that into me. Karen would definitely be in trouble."

"He's not into me," she said loudly in disbelief of what they were saying.

"Believe me," Becca said, "he's into you. And you can't tell me that you're not into him."

"Who wouldn't be into him?" Kelly said. "Lisa if you're not going to date him please let me know so I can."

"I can't believe you two," she said laughing at them.

"So you don't think he's hot?" Becca asked her. Both girls looked at her waiting for her answer.

"He's…okay," she told them. She refused to tell them that she was starting to believe that he was as hot as they already believed.

"Denial," Kelly told her. "But that's okay, you'll realize how hot you think he is at the party Friday night."

"I didn't say I was going to the party."

"You're going to the party," Becca told her.

* * *

"We're going over to Danny's and Greg's. Are you coming?" Becca asked sticking her head through the slightly ajar door of Lisa's bedroom.

She looked down at the books laid out in front of her thinking if she should go or not. She had been studying for a few hours and was growing tired of having her head in the books. Usually when that would happen she would take a fifteen minute break and force herself to go right back to studying. That strategy wasn't working too well for her. She wondered if Greg's would work better. She figured it must have worked seeing he had gotten into medical school, and seemed to be doing pretty well…other than the part about getting kicked out. Plus she would be able to make it up by studying with him tomorrow. She found that she did have some extra free time after studying with him. He made studying shorter and much more efficient. But he was brilliant. She wondered if the not studying too much strategy would work for what she thought to be her mediocre brain. Only one way to find out.

"Yeah, sure" she said getting up from the bed. "Why not?"

"She's coming," Becca yelled to Kelly as she left out of the room.

"Does that mean I can't feel him up tonight," Kelly yelled back loud enough for her to hear.

"You can feel him up as much as you want to," Lisa said with a smile, walking into the common room. "But you should be aware that he's…,"

"Got a girlfriend," they both said finishing the sentence for her.

"We know," Becca told her. "Is that the only reason why you give him the cold shoulder every time he comes on to you."

"Okay first of all," she started, "he does not come on to me. Second of all, that is not the only reason why I give him the cold shoulder."

"You're delusional," Kelly told her. "He most definitely comes on to you. I should know because he's coming on to you while I'm trying to come on to him." Lisa and Becca both laughed at her. "And I want to know what other reasons you could possibly have for turning down Greg House."

"Greg can have just about any girl on this campus and he uses that to his advantage. I don't want to be involved like that with someone who sleeps around."

"Okay he does sleep around," Becca said after thinking about it for a while. "But I think he really likes you. Maybe if you let him know that you want it to be exclusive."

"Okay Becca, no," she said dismissing the idea, not letting it sink in. She didn't know why but she didn't want to start thinking about Greg in any other way than the asshole that had for some reason become her friend and her tutor. She didn't have time for boys, she had to focus on her school work. "There's not going to be anything exclusive or non exclusive between me and Greg."

"Well maybe you should tell him that," Kelly told her. "Then maybe he'd stop hitting on you long enough to notice me hitting on him."

"For the last time he's not hitting on me. He just jokes like that," she told them.

"We'll see tonight," Becca told her. "I don't think he's playing though."  
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"Move your feet," Lisa told Kelly trying to reclaim her seat.

"Noooo Lise," she whined "I'm too comfortable. There's not enough room."

"Your butt is kinda big," Greg said eying her behind as she stood right in front of him. She turned around and glared at him. He just smiled and winked.

"Sit somewhere else," Becca told her, not wanting to get out of her comfortable partially stretched out position either.

"There is no where else to sit," she pointed out. They were all about to watch a movie. And were all to lazy to get up and pop the popcorn so they had a rock, paper, scissors contest and she had lost. When she came back with the popcorn, Danny was on the sofa sitting between Kelly and Becca and Greg was sitting in the huge chair next to the sofa.

"You can sit here," he said pulling her down into his lap.

"No thanks, but I'd rather take the floor," she said trying to get up, but she couldn't. He had wrapped his hands around her waist holding her in his lap.

"Let go of me," she told him in a threatening voice, as she stopped struggling.

"No you needed a seat, now you've got the most comfortable one in the house," he told her.

"Yeah Lisa," Becca told her. "Unless you want to switch with Kelly. I'm sure she would happily do that."

"Yes I would," Kelly smiled at her.

"Fine," she said about to get up again, but he held onto her still.

"No offense Kells," he told her, "but this seat is reserved."

"None taken Greg," she said shooting Lisa a secret 'I told you so' smile.

"I am not sitting in your lap," she told him.

"I'm not letting you get up," he told her.

"Lisa just relax," Danny told her. "We're all here he's not going to try anything."

"Yeah Lisa stop being a party pooper," Becca told her.

She sighed giving up and turned to Greg. "Scoot over," she told him. He did a little and she adjusted herself so that her butt rested more on the cushion of the chair than his lap. Her legs remained stretched out across his legs.

She was kind of happy she had sat next to him when she realized they were watching Friday the 13th. At the beginning of the movie she had relaxed a little against him and found the warmth and firmness of his body relaxing. She also found the smell of the left over cologne and the soap he used, mixed with his regular scent to be a turn on. She kept that under wraps though. She didn't notice, but he did when she relaxed more into him. He adjusted his right arm so it rested behind her back, giving her a little more leaning room . He smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder when a scary part was coming up on the movie. On one particular part, she had grabbed onto his shirt and hid her face his neck. He held her a little tighter as he felt the muscles in her body stiffen, while Becca, Kelly, and Danny screamed.

"Danny what the hell are you screaming for?" Greg asked laughing at his friend. "I think you screamed louder than the girls." They all started laughing.

"This movie is a little scary," he replied. "I worked at a summer camp before." They started laughing again.

"Yeah okay," he said still laughing a little.

He released his hold on her when he felt her relax again. He let his hand linger at the small piece of exposed flesh between the top of her jeans, and the hem of the short t-shirt she had exposed after taking the sweat shirt off. She looked down at his hand as his fingers began to gently trail back and forth over the exposed skin. She looked over at Kelly and Becca who had noticed too, and had excited grins on their faces. She didn't engage them, although she knew she would hear about it later, and went back to watching the movie. She didn't mind his hand on her skin, it was harmless, and it felt good, the feel of his calloused finger tips against her skin. However she noticed his fingers drifting a little lower as they started to toy with the waist band of her pants. She had her back partially against his chest so she couldn't really see his face, but she figured he had stop watching the movie when she felt his warm breath on her neck. A chill went down her spine, and he smiled, though she couldn't see it. He used his nose to nudge some of her hair to the side, gaining better excess to the exposed skin of her neck. He closed his eyes and took in her sent and the softness of her skin. He let out a low barely audible groan that was only heard by her as he dipped his hands inside the waist band of the jeans and started stroking the newly exposed skin. He brushed his lips against her neck and she bit down on her lip to keep from letting out a moan she felt threatening. She tried moving her head away, but that only gave him better excess to her neck. He placed a soft kiss on her neck, letting his tongue lightly graze her flesh as his fingers dipped lower and brushed the hem line of her panties. She jumped up quickly as she felt a pool of warmth growing between her legs.

"Where are you going?" Kelly asked her.

"Uhm…bathroom," she said rushing out of the room.

He was a little disappointed. No girl had ever reacted that way to him, but she…she just got up and ran away. He clearly didn't know the effect he had on her. His advances weren't the main reasons she had gotten up and practically ran into the bathroom. It was because she was getting too turned on by them. After a while, she hadn't come back into the living room so he got up to go check on her and apologize if needed.

She jumped when she heard a knock on the door, the movie really had her jumpy. She looked at the door, figuring it was Becca or Kelly or both after they had witnessed the beginning of what had just happened. She opened the door only to be met by his t-shirt, she quickly looked up to meet his face, and regretted opening the door as she felt the blush rise into her cheeks. He of course noticed it, and a small smile came to his face. He quickly hid it though as he realized he had came to apologize.

"What?" she asked him looking away hoping he didn't see the redness of her face, but knowing he probably had.

"I just came to apologize," he told her. "I guess I took it a bit too far."

"You did," she assured him. "You had no right to put your hand in my pants."

"You're right," he told her. "I mean you've only been knowing me for a few weeks, and I thought…,"

"You thought I was like all those other girls you sleep with the first day you meet them," she told him.

"No I didn't" he said truthfully. He had known her long enough to know she wasn't like those other girls. He still hoped that she was a fast mover and that he wouldn't have to wait too long to get into her pants though. "It's just that I'm a guy, and you were sitting in my lap, and you smelled so good, and you felt so good, and…" he stopped when he saw how she was glaring at him. "But you're right. I had no right to feel you up and know that you are wearing lace panties, although I think that's sexy as hell," he said getting a little off track, "but you were right, I had no right to do that."

She couldn't help the blush and the smile that came across her face. She mentally cursed herself for laughing so easily at his jokes...the compliments weren't too bad either. He smiled too, after seeing her smile. "I guess that means you forgive me?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

She looked up at him still smiling, "Just don't let it happen again."

"I can't make any promises, because you are hot, but I will try," he told her.

* * *

**A/N: Happy 4th of July...woot woot!!!**


	4. Chapter 3

"No wonder you're failing," he said looking at the book, "these pictures suck."

She gave him a disapproving look. "I'm not failing remember," she told him before turning back to her notes.

"Right," he said. "Pictures still suck."

"That's why they have words."

"Really?"

"Really." She said unknowingly giving him a flirtatious smile. Her smile faded a little as she looked up and saw Scott walking up to them.

"Lisa?" he said walking over to the cubicle where they were. House quickly turned around and saw the boy standing there with his crisp collar shirt on and his creased pants. He just stared at him.

"Scott," she said, "hey."

"Where have you been?" he asked her. "You kinda disappeared on me after school started."

"Yeah," she said looking towards her books. "I've been busy, studying."

"Yeah, of course," he told her. "So how are your classes coming along?"

"Boy this guy's boring," Greg whispered to her. "I think we were having more fun studying."

"Shut up," she managed to say through her teeth as she continued smiling at Scott. "They are actually coming along pretty good. I was having trouble in one of my classes, but I think I can turn it around by the end of the semester."

"Well that's good," he told her. He then acknowledged Greg for the first time. "I'm sorry," he said extending his hand. "I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I didn't throw it," he said mimicking the boy's smile.

"Uhhm, Scott, this is Greg House," she said. "He's helping me with biology."

"Greg House," he said putting his hand on his chin as if pondering the name. "The med student?"

"Yeah," she told him knowing Greg wouldn't answer.

"No offense man," he said to Greg before turning to her, "but Lise what are you doing hanging out with this guy?"

She looked at Greg and saw that his face had gotten a little more serious, and a flash of growing anger in his eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Surely you've heard about him," he told her. "Him getting kicked out of Hopkins along with all the other trouble he gets into, and of course all the girls. I mean why put yourself through that."

"When she can have you right?" Greg said reading the boy's mind.

"He's just a friend who's helping me with bio," she jumped in before Scott could reply.

"Greg House does not hang out with girls that are just friends," he told her. "Right?" he said smirking at Greg.

"Well, we're just friends," she said offended by the boy's implications.

"Maybe she just doesn't want you," Greg said again still having his own conversation with the boy. "Maybe you're too boring for her… to predictable."

"Look man, I said no offense," the boy told him.

"Yeah I know," he told him in a sarcastic tone. "You should see what I would've done if you hadn't said that."

"I didn't mean anything by it."

"Scott could you just leave us alone so I can finish studying," Lisa jumped in.

"Okay," he told her. "But your dad is going to be pretty upset when he finds out about this."  
With that he walked away.

"That guy," Greg said with a condescending chuckle. But Lisa didn't respond. She got up obviously disturbed by something the boy had just said.

"Scott," she called out to him when she got closer to him, careful not to be too loud since they were in the library. He turned around to face her. Greg wondered what was going on as he watched her pull the boy between the book stacks in order to have a more private conversation.

"You cannot tell my dad about this," she told him.

"So there is something to tell?" he questioned

"No," she said. "There is nothing to tell because there is nothing going on, but that's not why you can't tell him. You know why."

He stared at her and his expression softened a little. "Okay, okay," he said holding up his hands. "I won't tell him anything. But you have to be careful. That guy's a dog and I don't want you to get hurt."

She smiled at him. This was one of the reasons why they were still friends. He understood what she wanted and didn't try to destroy that or discourage her from getting it. Although he wasn't as enthusiastic about it, probably because a part of him still wanted her to be what her father wanted her to be, he still supported her.

"I'm not going to get hurt," she told him. "because there is nothing going on between us."

He studied her for a while trying to see if she was telling him the truth. "Okay Lise," he told her. Then pulled her into a hug. "But you should really keep in touch. That way when your dad asks I could say that I've been talking to you and not being lying to him."

"I will," she said as he released her from his hug.

"I have a test in a few, I should get going. Take care," he said before walking out of the library.

Greg noticed as she walked back over to the cubicle, obviously happier about whatever she was upset about when she had left. He watched her, curiously, as she sat down and started studying again. She didn't say anything, so he made his on conclusions.

"Did you just make out with him between the stacks?" he asked a little too loud.

She shushed him. "No, of course not."

"Well why are you so happy?"

"He's an old friend. I haven't seen him in a while," she told him, turning back to her books.

"An old boyfriend?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"No," she told him.

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care," she responded.

"He obviously has the hots fo…," he started.

"Are you helping me study or not?" she asked a little irritated. She got tired of explaining to people that her and Scott were not and never had been in a serious relationship. Sure that was that thing when the were fifteen, but they were just kids, and it was just a high school fling.

"Well since you asked so nicely," he said. He pointed to some paragraphs in the book. "Read over this section of DNA replication."

She leaned over and started reading the book. He sat patiently reading over her notes before also beginning to read out of her book. He placed one hand on the back of her chair and the other rested on the table as he leaned over her reading the book. This distracted her and she found herself reading the same sentence over and over, he was so close to her. The heat from his body warmed hers against the cool air that always plagued the fourth floor of the library. She just wanted to crawl into his arms and get closer to him. She fidgeted a little in her seat as she tried to get back to studying. She stole a glance at him, and saw that he was focused completely on the book. He wasn't trying to come on to her, but that only turned her on more.

"Finished?" he asked her leaning back in his chair.

"What?"

"Finished reading the section?" he repeated.

"Uhh," she said looking back at the book. "Yeah, but why don't we stop here for today. I'm a little tired."

"Okay," he said closing the book and helping her gather her notes. "But we'll come back early tomorrow afternoon to get some chapters in before the party."

* * *

She decided to skip their session the next day, trying to give herself a little room to get over the attraction she was starting to feel towards him. She figured it was best. After all, she couldn't study with him if she couldn't concentrate. She had taken the liberty of rewarding herself with an afternoon nap since her classes ended early on Fridays.

He was currently on his way over to find out why she was not at the library at their scheduled time. He had waited for her for twenty minutes and decided to go find her when she didn't show. He was a little upset with her. He didn't like people wasting his time. He walked up to the second floor of their dorm building and knocked on the door. Becca answered.

"Hey Becca, is Lisa here?" he asked her. "She was supposed to meet me at the library, but didn't show."

"I think she's in her room," she said stepping aside to let him in.

He knocked quietly on her door, but there was no answer. He could hear the faint sound of the little television she had in her room, so he figured she was in there. He opened the door and looked in to see her sprawled out across her bed asleep. A smile spread across his face as he watched her sleep in a pair of short gym shorts and a tank top. This was the least amount of clothes he had seen her in, and it really gave him the chance to admire her body. He decided that he wasn't really upset with her anymore. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Lisa," he said shaking her gently. She just groaned and turned on her back. "Lisa, wake up."

"Go away," she said knocking his hand away.

"I don't think so," he told her. "I waited for you for a very long time at the library and you never showed. Of course I'm not going to just let you sleep."

"Yeah? Well watch me," she said with her eyes still closed.

"Lisa?" she didn't answer him. He put his hand on her upper thigh and let his finger slide under her shorts. She propped herself up on her elbows and kicked him off of the bed with her other foot. She was initially mad at him, but she couldn't help but to laugh at the sight she opened her eyes too. Greg falling to the floor and the look on his face was priceless.

"That was not funny," he said with a serious look, getting up off of the floor and sitting back on the bed. This time he sat far enough on it so he could rest his back against the wall and she couldn't kick him off again.

"Yes it was," she said still laughing, "you should've seen your face."

"Yeah well, you should've seen your face that day you found out you failed your biology test," he said leaning to the side so his upper body was laying parallel to hers. She immediately stopped laughing.

"Not funny," she told him. "Why are you so mean?"

"You just kicked me," he told her, "and I'm the mean one?"

"You had your hand up my shorts."

"You left me waiting for you at the library," he retorted.

"Aww you waited for me, that's so sweet," she told him putting a hand on his face.

"Shut up," he said. He pulled her legs across his so she could stretch them out since his legs were still occupying the bottom half of the bed. He actually ended up pulling her closer in the process, letting his hand rest across her waist. Surprisingly she didn't pull away. The heat from his body was actually welcomed by her, since she had such little clothes on and Becca or Kelly had finally decided to lower the heater.

"You stood me up. I'm not helping you anymore," he told her softly.

"Yeah you will," she told him. "Because you like hanging out with me."

"How do you figure?" he asked smiling at her.

"Because I'm just that awesome," she said smiling back.

"Someone's getting a big head," he told her jokingly. He had never seen this side of her. He had seen the mean angry side of her when he first met her, which he liked because she put him in his place and he figured would provide a worthy opponent to argue with. He had seen the serious side of her, which he liked because she was mostly serious about the same things he was serious about. He had seen her vulnerable side when he saw her in the library that day, which he liked because she seemed so innocent and helpless and allowed him to get his ego stroked. But he had never seen the cool confident side of her. And although he got a kick out of those other three sides of her, he would have to say that he liked this side of her best. She was someone that he could just relax and have fun with.

"I don't have a big head," she told him. "You don't think I'm awesome?"

He hesitated and smiled at her. "Yeah, you're pretty awesome Lise," he told her. "But you'd be even more awesome if you came to the party tonight."

"Well if you would let me sleep, maybe I could."

"I'm not stopping you," he told her."Matter of fact, I think I'll take a little nap myself."

She realized that he wasn't leaving and that he had planned on sleeping in her bed. She still had an attraction to him and would have panicked and kicked him out had she not been so tired. At least now he wasn't distracting her from studying, so instead of fussing with him she just decided to go back to sleep.

"Just keep track of your roaming hands," she told him, closing her eyes to go back to sleep. Not soon after, he fell asleep too.  
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When he woke a few hours later he found that she had curled up closer to him, and was now snuggling against him even more than she had been before. He untangled himself from her slowly and slipped out of bed as quietly as he could without waking her. He had almost made it out the door, but he heard her stirring behind him when he picked up his backpack.

"You're leaving?" she asked groggily, almost as if she didn't want him to go. He smiled at the thought.

"Yeah," he told her. "I'm gonna go home and eat, and probably watch TV before I shower and go to the party."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the party."

"Don't worry, Becca and Kelly will make sure you come." She smiled at him.

"See you at the party," he told her, then walked out of the door.

* * *

"Dude what are you doing dancing with Jenna when you're girlfriend is standing right over there?" Danny asked Greg over the music.

"First of all," he started, "Karen is _NOT_ my girlfriend. And I'm not dancing with Jenna. I'm just standing here drinking my beer," he said holding the beer up. "She's the one all over me."

They both stopped and stared at the girl in front of him as she swayed her hips and did a seductive dance.

"Man coming to parties with you is always fun," Danny told him. "And things just got a little more interesting." He pointed towards the door where Kelly, Lisa, and Becca had just walked in. "How are you ever gonna score with Lisa with Karen always around and other girls always acting like…this," he said pointing to the girl still dancing in front of them.

"Where there's a will there's a way," Greg told him with a mischievous smirk.

"Well I would like to see you pull it off," Danny said, as he left to go over and greet the girls that had just walked in.

Greg watched, not really paying attention to the girl in front of him anymore, as Danny walked back over to him and the girls followed. Danny walked pass him and so did Kelly. When Lisa tried to walk pass him he put his arm out in front of her and wrapped it around her waist pulling her into him and allowing Becca to pass.

"I'll put this away for you," she said smiling as she grabbed Lisa's coat out of her hands.

Lisa smiled up at him, liking the way he seemed to be automatically drawn to her in spite of all the other girls at the party, most who were obviously throwing themselves at him based on the girl dancing right in front of him. He pulled her closer to him making her body press against his, and bumping the girl out of the way. She stopped dancing and glared at them before turning and walking away angrily. He didn't pay the girl any attention because he was too busy admiring Lisa's outfit. She had on a tight short black dress, with some black tights on under it. He would have preferred her not to wear the tights but it was cold out so he didn't complain. She blushed a little and turned away shyly as his eyes roamed over her body.

"How are you going to come to a party that I invited you to and pass by without speaking?" He asked leaning down to bring his mouth closer to her ear so she could hear him over the music.

"We talked already today," she told him. "You seemed a little preoccupied anyway."

"That was just a little unrequested entertainment until you got here," he told her.

"Oh really?" she asked in a flirty tone.

"Really…," he replied in a low raspy one.

She was happy that he had such a firm grip on her because the warmth of his breath on her neck and the texture of his tone along with the feel of his muscular body was making her knees a little week.

"Greg can I talk to you?" they heard an angry female voice say. He looked up at the girl and held on tighter to Lisa as he felt her try to move from his grasp.

"Kinda busy right now," he told her. Her mouth fell open in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" she asked growing angrier by the second.

"Uhm…," Lisa started uncomfortably. "I'm gonna go see what Becca and Kelly are doing."

"You don't have to go," he told her.

"It's okay. I'll catch up with you later," she said moving from his grasp. She instantly missed the feel of his body against hers, but needed to get out of that awkward situation and give them a chance to talk. She also needed time to gather herself. She had just been flirting with another girl's boyfriend, something she thought she would never do. But Becca and Kelly were right, he was just so damn hot.

'Get it together Lise,' she thought to herself as she searched the crowd for her friends. 'You can't fall for him. You see what he does to those other girls, you don't want to end up becoming another notch on his bed post.'

"Hey," Kelly said grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards them, snapping her from her own thoughts. "Where's Greg?"

"He's over there talking to his girlfriend," she told them.

"Who Karen?" Danny asked. She nodded. "She's not his girlfriend," he corrected her.

"She's not?" Becca asked a little surprised and a little glad to hear the news…well glad for Lisa anyway.

"That's what he just told me," Danny told them.

Becca and Kelly both turned to look at Lisa as Danny took another sip of his beer. She couldn't help but to laugh out loud at the way her friends were looking at her.

"What?" she asked them still giggling a little.

"Nothing," Kelly told her. "It's just now that you know he's single you shouldn't have a problem hooking up with him."

"Just because she's not his girlfriend doesn't mean that he's interested in me," she told him.

"Oh, but you're wrong Lisa," Danny told her. "He does have a thing for you."

"I knew it!" Kelly exclaimed. "And I told you so."

Lisa just blushed. "Whatever," she told them walking away. She started to mingle with some other people that she knew, not wanting to hear them telling her how she and Greg should hook up. She had a hard enough time resisting him on her own, she didn't need anyone planting ideas in her head. She also avoided him, not wanting to end up doing anything that she would regret later.  
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"We're going to go get something to eat before we head home," Kelly told her. "You coming?"

They had been at the party a few hours and she was growing tired of it. It was fun, but she did want to go home and get some sleep so she could study the next day, since she hadn't studied at all that day.

"Yeah, let me go get my jacket," she said before starting towards the room where Becca had put their jackets earlier. She barely made her way through the bunch of people that were still there in the living room and squeezed by some people making out in the hallway. She went into the bedroom and started to stifle through the coats until she came across hers. She turned around and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw that someone else had entered the room behind her.

"Shit, Greg you scar…," She was cut off when his lips pressed down hard against hers. He wrapped an arm around her to hold her up when she stumbled back a little. Caught by surprise and not having time to put her guards up, she started to kiss back, opening her mouth to allow his tongue access when she felt it brush against her lips. He continued to kiss her as his hands started to roam over her body. She instinctively pushed him away from her when the bedroom door flew open.

"Ohh sorry man," a half drunken frat boy said as he held on to an even drunker blond. "I didn't know this room was taken."

She grabbed her coat that was now sitting on the top of the pile on the bed and left out of the room, not even looking back at him. 'Shit, why did I kiss him back,' she thought to herself as she made her way back through the people. 'Because I like him that's why.'


	5. Chapter 4

"What the hell?" Lisa asked looking up from her notes as Greg came to sit beside her. She hadn't seen him approaching her and he had scared her. He just smiled, and she rolled her eyes before turning back to her notes.

"You've been avoiding me," he told her, curiosity oozing from his tone.

"I have not been avoiding you," she lied.

She had been avoiding him, successfully for the last couple of weeks, since the night they had kissed at the party. Just when she figured it was safe to go back to the library again. He put his hand on her chin and turned her head towards him making her look him in the eyes. She blushed a little before pulling away from him and looking back down at her notes.

"You little liar," he told her.

"I'm not lying," she said, knowing that he already knew the truth.

"Of course you are," he said. "Every since that night you kissed me at…,"

"I didn't kiss you," she said looking up at him. "You kissed me."

"You kissed back," he said. She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't think of anything so she looked away again. He studied her for a little while, taking notice to how she was putting in the extra effort to ignore him.

"Com'on, you can't get that worked up over a little kiss, unless," he paused and studied her a little longer. "Oh my god, was that your first kiss."

"No, it wasn't my first kiss," she said nonchalantly and unmoved by the comment, making him figure she was telling the truth. That and she was too good at it for it to have been her first kiss.

"Hmmm," he said in thought. "Then why would you avoid me?"

She didn't answer so he continued to analyze the situation. She was pissed when he put his hands on her hips the first night they met, had gotten all flustered and worked up the night they were watching the movie and he barely touched her panties, and she had resulted to physical violence when he put his hand up her shorts.

"Are you a virgin?" he asked suddenly after a few minutes of his silent thinking.

"What?" she asked him.

"I said are you a vi…," she quickly put her hand over his mouth, not wanting him to repeat it and let anyone else hear him besides the ten people that heard him the first time.

"I don't think that's any of your business," she said glaring at him. Normally she wouldn't think twice about telling people that she was in fact a virgin, but for some reason she felt a little embarrassed about it with him. Maybe because he was so experienced and would probably start seeing her as just a kid. But why did she care about what he thought of her. He noticed how that comment had gotten a reaction out of her.

"Either you are a virgin and you don't want anyone to know or you're not, and you've done some things that you don't want anyone to know about," he said.

She did her best not to react to him and give him the answer he was prodding for. He found himself getting a little turned on at the thought of her being a virgin. It was such a turn on to him especially if he got to be the one to deflower her, which he was planning on doing …if she was a virgin.

"Com'on Lise," he said leaning in closer. He was so close that his lips were almost touching her ear. "You can tell me. Are you a virgin?"

A shiver ran down her spine as the heat from his warm breath and his body came into contact with her skin. This didn't escape him.

"I have finals in a coupe of weeks," she told him, her irritation hiding her discomfort from being further exposed, "so if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to studying."

He saw that she was becoming upset with him and didn't want to do anything else to make her run farther away than she already had. Aside from the thought of bedding her, she was actually a cool person to hang out with. He looked at all of the books and notes she had spread out across the desk and decided to offer his services again.

"Here let me help you," he said picking up some of the notes and reading over them. He mentally kicked himself for getting deterred from his original goal. He didn't want to get close to her, he only wanted to get laid, but he had started getting close to her and was in danger of getting closer. He had never noticed the things in other girls that he noticed about her. The way she twirled and tugged on her curls when she was really focusing on something she was reading or writing, the twinkle that came to her eyes when she smiled…the twinkle that came to her eyes when she was pissed, mostly at him.

She would've turned down his help but she was really starting to get swamped on the road to finals. She would never understand why teachers gave so many papers, quizzes and tests right before finals. She was however doing a little better thanks to ways he had shown her to study, but she could still use his help. She had also found herself missing his presence during those weeks she was avoiding him. She liked being around him, he was entertaining, he could hold an intelligent conversation, and he was very attentive towards her, and she liked the attention… his attention.

* * *

"You're not really dating Scott are you?" Lisa's sister Jennifer asked walking into her bedroom.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because you two have been out of school for a few weeks and he hasn't stopped by once," she explained. "And I haven't heard you say that you were going to meet him anywhere, so either you have a really boring relationship or you have none."

Lisa smiled at the sixteen year old. She didn't feel threatened by her little sister because she knew that if she did find out the truth she would never tell her parents. She was happy that she and Jenn were so close in age. This gave them an even stronger bond and the girl just didn't run off and tell her parents every time Lisa did something they didn't approve of, and Lisa afforded her the same favor. Although the girl was a little more subservient to their parents than Lisa was, she was one of the only reason that she enjoyed going home for Christmas break.

"I know you're not dating him," she continued. "Your birthday was yesterday and all he did was call."

"So you know I'm not dating him," Lisa said finally looking away from the magazine she was reading as she laid out across her bed. "Why are you in here asking me all of these questions?"

"Oooh, you better hope mom and dad don't find out," she said. "Dad's going to freak."

"No he won't because he won't find out," Lisa retorted, threateningly.

The girl just made a face at her. Lisa rolled her eyes and went back to reading. She loved her little sister, but she did annoy her…a lot.

"So who are you dating?" she continued.

"I'm not dating anyone," Lisa told her. "Why are you worried about my life don't you have a life of your own…oops, I forgot…you don't."

"Shut up," Jenn told her now becoming annoyed by her older sister. "You better hope they like him or else that relationship is going to get axed quick."

With that Jenn left the room, growing tired of her sister's not so entertaining company.

Lisa laughed to herself. The closes she was to dating someone was Greg, and her parents would never approve of him. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face when she thought about him. She had been on break for three weeks now and she was starting to miss his company. She only had one more week left before school started, and although she enjoyed hanging out with her old friends from high school, she was starting to miss all of her new friends, especially him. During the last four weeks of the semester they had grown closer. But in a way, she was happy for the break. It gave her a chance to get away from him and get her feelings for him in check. She actually felt that she could be around him now without getting totally distracted by him and without getting drawn into his bed.

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"I would ask you to spend the night," he lied to the girl as he got out of the bed and pulled his boxers back on, "but I really need to study tonight."

He reached for the gray sweat pants on the floor and pulled them on.

"That's okay," the girl said rising to her knees and crawling to the end of the bed where he was. "I understand."

She leaned into him and began kissing him. He kissed back for a few minutes, his hands began roaming over her naked body. He stopped himself and pulled away.

"Jenna," he started with a laugh. "You should really get out of here, before I get distracted."

He smacked her on her bottom before grabbing her clothes off of the floor and handing them to her. He left out of the room and went into the bathroom. When he returned a few minutes later the girl was fully dressed. He walked her to the door and shared one last make out session with her before she left. He was in the kitchen fixing himself something to eat when Danny walked through the front door.

"I saw Jenna leaving," the boy said with a smile. "Had fun?"

"Lots," he smirked back.

"A few of us are about to head over to Louie's, you wanna come?" Danny asked.

"No, I'm gonna stay in tonight. Got some studying I need to catch up on."

"Okay," Danny said grabbing the wallet he had came back for. "Suite yourself."

"Hey is Heather going to be there?" Greg asked, as Danny was about to walk out of the door.

"Yeah."

"Tell her I said hi," he said. Just because he needed to study that didn't mean he couldn't start setting up his next lay.

"Will do," Danny said with a knowing smile, before walking out of the door.

Greg finished eating the sandwich he had made for himself before getting his books and spreading them out on the dinning room table. He hadn't even bothered going home for Christmas. The med students only got a couple of weeks off anyway. He had called his mom to wish her a Merry Christmas and they had exchanged gifts via mail delivery. The rest of his break was spent studying or talking up some new girl that he knew had the hots for him. Although the girl he really wanted had gone home. He was starting to forget about the idea of sleeping with her. She wasn't easy like the rest and was taking too much work, although they were still becoming great friends. That was one of the reasons that he was starting to rethink his original idea. He didn't want to sleep with a girl that he was actually friends with; that would be too much like a relationship, and that's not what he was looking for.

The telephone on the wall outside of the kitchen started to ring. Since he had been studying for a few hours, he figured he could use the break and got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Greg," he heard a familiar female voice come through the speakers.

"Hey Lise," he said with smile because it was actually someone he wanted to talk to. "What's up?"

"Nothing, sitting at home, bored," she said. "Trying to avoid my parents."

"Why? What'd you do?"

"I didn't do anything," she defended. "I just won't let them run my life, and they can't stand that. But what are you doing? What's been going on since I left?"

"Well I've been studying and going to class for the most part?"

"You? Going to class? I don't believe it," she said. "You must really be bored."

"Yeah, I don't really have anyone to give me lap dances any more, I hope you've been practicing," he said. He had decided not to pursue sleeping with her, but he was still attracted to her.

"Yeah okay," she said sarcastically while laughing. "Because I gave you all those lap dances before."

"Exactly," he said with a smile. He missed hearing her laugh, and he cursed himself for it. "So when are you coming back?"

"I wish I could come back now," she said. "My little sister's getting on my nerves and my parents are so ughhh…" she said thinking about all the garbage she had been putting up with from them since she arrived home.

"That's why I don't go home for breaks," he told her. "You should've taken winter semester classes."

"Naw I needed a break," she said. "But I should be back next week sometime."

"Cool," he said, then realized something. "Didn't you make a birthday this week?"

"Yeah I turned nineteen," she said proudly and happy that he had remembered.

"Wow that young huh?" he said knowing he would burst her little teenage bubble.

"Shut up," she told him, wishing she was close enough to hit him. "Just because you're ancient."

"Ancient seems to be working for me," he told her. "All of the girls seem to like it."

"Is that all you ever think about?"

"Most of the time," he confessed.

They talked a little while longer before she told him she would let him get back to studying.

* * *

"Hey," Lisa said coming up behind Danny as he waited in line at Louie's.

"Hey," he said turning around and giving her a hug. "When did you get back?"

"Yesterday," she said. "but I was busy with this volunteer program I'm going to be doing this semester."

"Sound's fun," he told her. "Listen, we just got here, if you wanna join us?"

"No I wouldn't wanna intrude," she declined.

"No really, it's okay," he said. "Greg's here. So you can at least come over and say hi."

"Uhmmm" she debated. "Okay." She and Danny walked back over to the table where his friends were sitting.

"Look what I found for you man," Danny said nudging Greg making him turn around.

He didn't say anything, as he stood up and hugged her lifting her from her feet and making her giggle.

"When did you get back?" he asked placing her back on the ground, but keeping his arms around her.

"Yesterday."

"Are you staying and having dinner with us?"

"No," she said after a slight hesitation and noticing a dark haired girl glaring at her, "I probably shouldn't. I'll just take my food back to the room."

"Are Becca and Kelly back yet?" asked Danny.

"No," she told him. "They're coming back tomorrow."

"Well you can't eat alone," he told her.

"You might as well stay it's not like you've got anything to study," Greg told her. "School hasn't started yet. Scoot over Jenna."

The girl did as instructed though not happy about it as Greg slid in beside her. He then pulled Lisa down next to him.

"Who is she?" Jenna asked recognizing Lisa from the party and not trying to hide the attitude in her voice.

"This is Lisa," Greg said. "Lise this is Mike, Emma Sarah, and Jenna."

Everyone else were much nicer than Jenna so she actually ended up staying. She wondered what had happened to Karen, but didn't say anything. She hadn't seen much of her after the party, then she just stopped seeing her all together. She came to the conclusion that her and Greg had stopped seeing each other, but he worked fast because he obviously had another one. She wondered how long she would last.  
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"One of you guy's have to walk me back to my dorm, " Lisa said as they approached their apartment complex. Usually she would walk on her own but it was a little late, and the campus was a little deserted and spooky since everyone hadn't returned from their break yet.

"That's your job," Danny said looking to Greg as he unlocked the front door to their apartment and walked in.

"Com'on Lise I'm tired," Greg said. "You can just stay here."

"No I don't wanna sleep on the couch," she told him.

"Then you can sleep in my bed."

"I'm not sleeping in your bed," she said with a chuckle, obviously amused by the suggestion.

"Why not?" he asked sounding a little offended.

"Because too many girls have slept in your bed," she told him.

"I wash the sheets."

"Eww."

"No, it would be 'Eww' if I didn't," he corrected.

"Just walk me home Greg," she said pouting a little. "Pleeasse."

He let out an exasperated sigh knowing that she wasn't going to sleep in his bed and even more so that he wasn't going to let her walk across campus alone. He went inside and grabbed his helmet from the table in the living room.

"Com'on," he said. "I'll take you on my bike."

He handed her the helmet when they got to his bike and climbed on. She climbed on behind him.

"Hold on tight," he said before starting the engine.

"Don't go too fast," she said wrapping her arms around him. She probably would have gotten off of the bike if she had seen the smile that came across his face.

Two minutes later, he was pulling up into a parking spot beside her dorm. She quickly got off of the bike took the helmet off and hit him with it.

"What was that for?" he said not being able to hold back his laughter after seeing the look on her face.

"You asshole," she said. She hit him twice more with her hand, realizing he was laughing at her. "I told you not to go fast."

"Relax," he told her turning off of the engine. "You're here, you're alive."

She shoved the helmet into his chest before storming off towards her dorm. He put the kick stand down on his bike and climbed off, following her to the dorm. When he finally caught up with her she had reached the second floor and was walking down the hall towards their dorm. She unlocked the door and went in, he followed locking the door behind him. He then followed her into her bedroom.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as she gathered her things to get in the shower.

"I'm staying here tonight," he told her. "You made me come all the way over here, I'm tired."

"All the way over here? It took you less than two minutes to get here."

"Yeah, but apparently I shouldn't drive so fast," he said smiling at her as he fell back onto her bed. She rolled her eyes at him and went to go take a shower. When she came out twenty minutes later she found him lying on the bed, reading what she quickly noticed as her diary.

"Give me that," she said trying to snatch it out of his hands, but he pulled it away. She climbed in the bed with him and they ended up wrestling, with him winning by pinning her down to the bed.

"Give me my diary," she said out of breath from trying to snatch it from him. She couldn't move to grab it because his body was pinning her down.

"What do I get in return?" he said smirking down at her.

"Give it to me," she said through clenched teeth.

"Gladly." He brought his lips to hers and tossed the diary on the floor. He kissed her and she stopped trying to push him off after a few seconds. His mouth moved from her mouth, to her jaw line, to her neck, where he began to suck, kiss and bite, careful not to leave any marks. She began to let out soft moans as her hands became entangled in his hair. She felt one of his hands trailing down her thigh. It stopped once it reached the back of her knee, and he gently separated her leg from the other. Positioning himself in the middle.

"Greg," she managed to get out in a low moan. She wanted to stop him, she wanted her voice to be more forceful, but it felt so good; his hands on her, his lips on her, his hips resting between her thighs.

"Hmm," he hummed still attacking her neck as his hand began to travel up her shirt.

"I think we should stop," she said. "Before this goes too far."

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked between kisses. He wanted this, although he had convince himself that he didn't, but he wouldn't make her or any other female do anything that they didn't want to. She didn't answer right away.

"Yeah." She didn't really want him to stop, but she needed him to.

The kisses he was placing on her neck slowed before they stopped all together.

"You're such a tease," he said rolling off of her. He slid his arm under her and rolled her into him so they were face to face and their bodies were pressing against each other. She thought he would be mad, but she was glad to see that he wasn't.

"So you're dad's an asshole?"  
She knew that he had read at least that part of her diary and hoped he hadn't got to read much more.

"I wouldn't say he's an asshole," she said.

"But you have no problem calling me one?"

"He just doesn't understand me," she said diverting her eyes away from his. He could tell it was a sensitive subject with her.

"What doesn't he understand?" he asked in a softer voice as he began to trace soft circles in her lower back with his fingertips.

"What I want?" she said.  
He pulled her closer egging her to continue.

"We had a really good relationship when I was younger. When I was about thirteen, I told him that I wanted to be a doctor. He thought I would change my mind, but as I got older I didn't, so it started to become a problem."

"Why doesn't he want you to be a doctor?" he asked.

"Because all he wants me to be is someone's wife, and someone's mother. He thinks that's all I have to offer."

He looked up at the ceiling. "I can see you being a wife," he started, "and a mother."

She sighed disappointedly. She thought he would be different.

"But I could also see you being a doctor," he finished.

She looked up into his crystal blue eyes and a small smile tugged at her lips. Their faces were already only centimeters apart from the position they were laying in. He brought his other hand to her face and caressed her cheek before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers. She didn't pull away, just looked up at him, lips slightly parted, as her fingers gripped onto his shirt. He kissed her soft and slow, their tongues brushing lightly against each other before he pulled back slowly. He watched her as she opened her eyes. She smiled at him before resting her head at the crook of his shoulder and closing her eyes. He looked down at her when he felt her breathing slow, and watched her sleep. He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, letting it out. 'I'm in big trouble,' he thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to review!!!!! And I will change the rating to M, so the next post will change the story's rating.**


	6. Chapter 5

"Let me see it," the auburn haired girl said as she tried to get a better look at the gash above Greg's eye.

"It's fine," he said pushing her hands away.

"Why do you start a fight in almost all of your games?" Kelly asked them as they took up one of the tables in the back of the café.

It was now mid April and they all had just come from one of Greg's lacrosse games. He had gotten into it with one of the guys from the other team, and it turned into a full fledged fist fight. They had decided to go out to eat afterwards.

"Makes the game more fun," he told her. "Plus it helps to throw the other team off a little bit."

"It looks like it hurts," the auburn haired girl said again raising her hand to get a better look.

"I said its fine," he said, shooting her an annoyed look.

"Gotta give it to you man," Mike started. "I thought he was going to take you, because he was bigger than you, but you messed him up pretty bad."

Greg wasn't as big as the guy he had gotten in the fight with, though he was very muscular and toned due thanks to his almost daily jogging routine. That and lifting a weights during lacrosse season, along with his tall, broad frame kept the average muscle head from having a significant leverage over him.

"Hey guys," Lisa said walking up to the table and sitting in the open seat next to Greg. "The test took a little longer than I expected. Who won the game?"

Things between Greg and Lisa hadn't really changed much. They had started hanging out with each other more than they did their other friends, they still managed to get themselves into sexual situations every now and then, although Lisa always stopped it before it got to far. He wasn't necessarily tutoring Lisa anymore, but they still studied together, and he would sometimes explain things to her which she didn't understand, mostly chemistry. She had started acing all of her biology tests and no longer needed his help in that area.

"We did," Mike told her.

She then noticed the gash across Greg's eye. "Who one the fight?" she asked putting her hand on his face and turning it to her so she could see the gash. She already knew where it had come from.

"I did," he replied.

"That looks really bad," she said.

"You should see him," he told her. He noticed the concerned look on her face. "I got one on my lip too," he said pointing to the cut on his bottom lip, "wanna kiss it."

She smiled and pushed his face away from her. Kelly and Sarah looked at each other and smiled. They always found it amusing how he would always openly flirt with her in front of his groupie of the week, mostly because they never liked the girl.

"Watch this," Sarah whispered to Kelly. "So Jenna, what are you majoring in?"

The girl just glared at her. "Oh," Sarah said as if she was sorry she made the mistake, "I'm sorry. Robyn."

"That's Grace," Kelly jumped in.

"My name's Heather," the girl corrected in a harsh tone.

"You guy's ready to order?" the waitress asked as she walked up to the table.

"Yes, yes we are," Greg said a little too eager and thankful that the waitress had come to interrupt the conversation.

* * *

Lisa sighed and closed her chemistry book, deciding to take a break to go see what he was doing. She left out of his room and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yeah," he answered.

She turned the door knob and peeped in. He was standing in the mirror with a bottle of alcohol and some cotton balls dabbing at the cut above his eye.

"He really got a good hit on you," she said as she walked in and hopped up on the counter next to him.

"Ahh, he hits like a girl," he said smiling at her before turning back to the mirror.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment considering your busted lip," she replied.

He continued cleaning the cut as she sat on the counter watching him. All he had on was a pair of jeans, leaving his well toned upper body exposed for spectators. She watched the subtle movements of the muscles in his biceps and back as he moved about trying to clean his cut. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she contained the urge. More and more she was becoming curious about sex. Of course she knew it felt good, well depending on who you did it with. She knew that much from her friends talking about it, and figured it had to feel good if it was a higher step than the usual wrestling match she had with Greg, which usually ended up with her being pinned under him, and very seldom her pinning him to the bed when he would let her win. She wanted to have sex, but she had promised herself that she would wait for the right guy. She wanted him to be the right guy, but she just wasn't sure if he was, being that he had a different girl every other week. Thankfully, she always had the will power to stop him before things ever went too far. Nothing really sexual had ever happened between them, other than the occasional make out session, but she had made out with guys before, though she never got as worked up with them as she did with him.

"Shit, " he said quietly as he leaned forward to keep the alcohol from going in his eye.

She laughed at him before grabbing some tissue and touching his arm to tug him towards her. "Here, let me help you before you blind yourself," she told him.

He stepped in front of her as she began cleaning his cut.

"You know you really suck at this to say you're going to be a doctor," she told him.

"Yeah well, it's kinda different when you're doing it on yourself," he retorted as he opened her legs a little so he could stand in between them more comfortably.

She stopped cleaning the cut and looked up at him skeptically. Even with her sitting on the sink he was still a little bit taller than her.

"What?" he asked with a knowing smirk on his face. She didn't answer, but continued to stare. "I'm not going to put my hands up your skirt Lise," he told her. "Not unless you want me to."

She rolled her eyes, figuring he was just in one of his playful moods, and continued to dab at the cut. She felt his hands began to rub small circles on the insides of her knees, slowly making their way up to the hem of her skirt. By the time that happened, his fingers were more than midway up her thigh.

"I didn't know you owned a skirt this short," he said stopping there and checking to see if she would stop him. "I thought you were too frumpy for that… Ouch!"

"I'm not frumpy," she said, going back to gently cleaning the cut.

"I see that," he said giving her thighs a squeeze. She glanced down at him once more, and saw that he was trying to see past her skirt. He couldn't, so he continued to move his hands up her thighs slowly making her skirt rise with it. She focused her attention back on the cut.

He continued to push her skirt up until he could see a small part of her pink laced panties. He smiled to himself as he looked up to see that she was purposely focusing on the cut above his eye. He knew he probably should have stopped, but he was turned on now, and he couldn't draw the strength to stop himself. And she wasn't stopping him so he continued. He pushed the skirt up a little more and licked his lips as he saw the outline of her through her panties. He began to rub small circles on the inside of her thighs with his thumbs. He leaned into her so that she was no longer able to dab at the cut . She looked him in his eyes, fully aware of where his hands were.

"Do you want me to put my hands up your skirt?" he asked her, knowing that his hands were already up her skirt. He run his thumb over her panties and her breath hitched as a shiver ran down her spine, but no words came from her mouth. He smiled at her. "I'll take that as a yes."

He pressed his lips to hers and brushed his tongue against her lips, she responded by opening her mouth and wrapping her arms around his neck. His lips slowly found their way to her neck as he removed his hands from her thighs, taking her arms from around his neck and placing them at her sides. He slowly slid his hands up her arms until they met with the thin straps of her tank top. He pulled them off of her shoulders, and the material of the shirt, that was the only thing covering her breasts, slowly started to sink lower, along with his mouth. When his mouth reached the top of her breast he pulled away and slid the straps down a little lower, fully exposing both of her breasts to him. He smiled, half expecting her to stop him since this was the farthest he had ever gotten with her. At least if she stopped him, he did get to see her breast. He felt a stirring in his pants as he eyed her perky breasts and her erect nipples. He slowly brought his mouth to her right breast. He heard her gasp as he wrapped his lips around her nipple. She let out a long moan, taking pleasure in the new sensations that were conjuring in her. She leaned back on the counter using one arm to hold herself up and arched her chest into his mouth, while her other hand went to the back of his head, her fingers entwining in his hair, as he began to suck, nibble,and pull on her. After a few minutes, he pulled his mouth away with a large smacking sound and hoisted her skirt up a little more as he went to work on her left breast, all the while her hand at the back of his head urging him to continue. He put one hand on her lower back, holding her steady as he worked on her left breast, while the fingers of the other hand played with the top edge of her panties.

He pulled away from her breast and brought his lips back up to her and brought his other hand down to her panties also. She panicked a little when she felt him lift her up slightly to slide her panties past her hips, but quickly pushed it to the back of her mind as his mouth found its way back to her neck and collar bone. He pulled her closer to the edge of the counter and slid her panties down her thighs. He lifted her left leg a little and freed it of the lacy fabric. The light pink object fell freely from her other the leg and onto the floor. He kissed her neck and brought his hands to her hips, letting his thumb brush lightly over her slit. He smiled when he felt how wet she was. He pushed his thumb a little further and she let out a loud moan. He ran his finger over her button slowly and kissed her neck, listening to her moans as they bounced off of the walls of the bathroom. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her softly biting gently on her bottom lip as he slid his finger down toward her entrance. He put one arm around her waist and slid her closer to the edge of the counter top, until she was almost falling off. He pulled away from the kiss and rested his forehead against hers, watching her as he slid his middle finger into her core. Her hips jerked and she bit down on her bottom lip as she let out a long, lustful moan. He pulled her off of the counter, unevenly, so one of her thighs still rested on top of the counter while she stood on the other leg. He began to move his finger around inside of her. He starred into her eyes wanting to see her every reaction to what he was doing to her, believing he was the first one to ever do it to her. He had to be, she was too tight around his finger to have had any kind of penetration before. He added another finger to the first and groaned when he felt her muscles clench against them.

He tilted his head down and kissed her. "You are a virgin aren't you?" he asked her in a low, rugged tone.

She just bit down on her lip and nodded. He smiled down at her, getting even more turned on than he already was at the confirmation. He curled his fingers inside of her and she tightened her grip on his biceps to steady her self. He straightened his fingers again and repeated the action, making her let out a high pitched gasp. He scissored his fingers inside of her trying to stretch her out a little before he inserted his now throbbing member into her, though he knew it wouldn't help, given his size and her being a virgin and all. But someone had to do it, it might as well have been him. He began moving his fingers in small circles before pulling them back out and inserting them again. He did this repetitively, quickly gaining speed as her breathing became more labored. She stood on her toes, as his fingers seemed to go deeper inside of her, and he pulled her closer pressing her breast against his bare chest. The feel of her breast and her erect nipples pressed firmly against his hard body, and his long fingers moving inside of her started a small fire in her lower abdomen.

"Oh my God," she said as she felt her body starting to tingle, "Greg"

He smiled down at her knowing she was getting close.

"Anybody ever made you cum Lise?" he asked as her.

"No," she gasped, as her breathing became even more shallow.

His smile grew wider. "Good," he told her. "Then I'll be the first."

He began thrusting his fingers in and out of her at an even quicker pace.

"MMhmmm," she moaned out as her head fell back and she arched her back, thrusting her hips into his fingers.

"Ohhhh..." she cried out as her nails dug deeper into his biceps, "...Greg..."

She let out one last cry before he felt her already tight muscles contracting against his now stilled fingers. He watched her face contort into expressions of ecstasy as she rode out the waves of her orgasm. He began kissing on her neck still holding her in his right arm as she waited for her breathing to return to normal.

She was still marveling in the sensation of her first orgasm. She had experimented on herself before like any other curious teenager, but was never able to bring herself to the point of orgasm. She brought her lips to his and began kissing him passionately. She felt his hands all over her body again and was starting to get lost in him again until she heard the sound of the zipper on his jeans going down. She quickly snapped back to reality, she wasn't ready to have full on intercourse with him, with anyone. She pushed him away and pulled the straps of her tank top back up, covering her breasts.

"We have to stop," she said as she pulled her skirt back down. She rushed out of the bathroom leaving him looking at the bathroom door confused and on hard. He heard her shuffling around in his bedroom and he went in to see what she was doing. He watched her as she frantically gathered her books and her notes, shoving them into her back pack. The blood still hadn't returned to his brain, so he just stood there, not really knowing what to say to make her stay.

"Lise wha…?"

"Greg," she said standing straight and grabbing her back pack, "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"I understand," he said as she walked towards him. He grabbed her arm as she tried to pass by him. "But you don't have to leave."

She never looked up at him, a little too embarrassed to do so. She didn't know if she was embarrassed because she didn't have the guts to go all the way or because she had gone that far with him.

"I ca…" she stuttered looking down at the floor. "I can't stay. I'm sorry." She slipped her arm out of his grasp and left him standing there. He listened as he heard the front door open and close again.

"Fuck!" he said as he passed his fingers through his hair. He cursed his inability to control himself around her. She couldn't even look at him. He walked back towards the bathroom to go take a cold shower, but found her pink panties lying in the middle of the floor. He picked them up and rubbed the soft material between his fingers, wondering if he had just ruined their friendship.

* * *

**A/N: There you go people. A little smut. Hope you liked.**


	7. Chapter 6

"I have one final Monday, two Tuesday, one Thursday, and a paper," Lisa said before placing a fry in her mouth. She was in Louie's having lunch with Kelly, Becca, and Sarah. It was the week before finals and they were all taking a study break, before she went to her last two classes of the semester. After finals, she was going to go home for a couple of weeks before returning back to campus for summer classes. She was working on getting her dad to buy her a car, but it wasn't looking too good.

"Oh look," Becca said motioning towards the front of the building. "There goes Greg."

"And he's got a new flavor of the week," Kelly added , as all the girls look to see him walking in with a girl with honey colored hair hanging on his arm. He was saying something and she was smiling up at him. Lisa couldn't help but to stare as she felt jealous butterflies rise in her stomach. She hadn't talked to him in a week, since their little incident had occurred. She had Becca, Kelly, or whoever screen her phone calls having them take a message, and telling them she would call them back. They didn't known anything was up between them, because they actually thought she was calling him back.

She was still a little embarrassed, now because she thought he would think she was some kinda psycho after she ran out the way she did. But she had panicked; she didn't think that her first time would have been so stressful. She had wanted to keep going, but she was still a little confused as to if it was the right thing to do and if he was the right person to do it with. She was feeling the urge now more than ever to have sex, after experiencing her first orgasm. She found herself getting a little upset seeing the way the girl was hanging onto him. She reminded herself that she had no right to get upset, he didn't owe her anything. It's not like he had kicked her out of his apartment without explaining, she had left on her own and then avoided his calls.

She finally realized she was staring when his electric blue eyes turned on her. His smile faded and he seemed to forget that the other girl was standing next to him. He started to walk towards her, but the girl still had a hold on his arm. She seemed to ask him where he was going, he turned to tell her something and she let go of his arm, staying to hold their place in line.

"Uhh," Lisa said grabbing her back pack that lay on the floor next to her chair, "guys I'm gonna get going. My next class starts in a few. I'll talk to you guys later."

She stood up and started walking away as he reached the table.

"Lisa," he tried as she walked past him. She didn't stop and just kept going. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned back to the three girls that remained at the table.

"Hey guys. What's up?" he asked, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Why don't you tell us," Sarah said with a raised eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"What do you mean?" he asked her

"You did something for Lisa to just run out like that?"

"Yeah, she seems to do that a lot," he mumbled to himself.

"What?" Kelly asked.

"Nothing," he said louder so they could hear. "Why do you automatically assume I did something wrong?"

"Well you did something for her to be upset with you," Becca joined in.

"I didn't do…" he started, but stopped himself when he realized he was talking to three girls about his problems with one of their kind. It would always be his fault, no matter what. "I can't win."

"Sure can't," Kelly responded with a smile.

"Okay," he said. "I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you guy's later."  
He went back over to the girl he had left standing in line and made up a lie about his stomach hurting, before he left out of the restaurant.  
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She sat in the middle of the auditorium and watched as everyone else started to pour in, in small groups. She started to take out her note book, knowing the professor wasn't going to give too many new notes since it was the last day of class.

"Hey," she heard from the person who had just sat in the chair next to her. She looked up to see none other than the one person she was trying to avoid. "You really need to stop running out like that."

"Why are you here?" she asked him, trying not to let the now almost crowded auditorium in on their conversation.

"I got bored with my classes, thought I'd get back to the basics," he told her. She rolled her eyes at him and looked back down to her notebook. "I came here to talk to you," he said more seriously.

She didn't answer. "You can't ignore me forever." Still no answer.

"Fine," he said, raising his voice louder to make sure the people around them could hear him. "But I think you should know you left something back at my place. You know, your pan…,"

She quickly put her hands over his mouth. "Okay," she said glaring at him. "I'll talk to you later, now would you please go?"

"When?"

"What?"

"When are we going to talk? You could just be saying that to get me out of here," he told her.

"After my next class," she told him.

He studied her for a minute. "Okay, I'll be waiting for you," he told her before grabbing his backpack and leaving the class.

As promised he was lying down on the bench outside of the building after her next class. She was hoping that he wouldn't be there so she could go back to her room and avoid him until finals were over.

"So where do you wanna go?" he asked as he got up to walk beside her.

"I don't know," she said. "You wanted to talk, where do you wanna go?"

"We can go to library," he suggested.

"This may be news to you, but the library is not a place for holding conversations."

"We can go back to my place." She shot him an obvious glare.

"What? Don't trust yourself around me?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, why don't we just go over there," he pointed to an opening in the grass under the tree, where a whole bunch of other people were spread out reading or talking, and some even sleeping.

"Fine," she said as she headed towards the tree. He looked after her wondering why she had such a harsh tone with him.

"Did I do something?" he asked, taking a seat next to her under the tree.

"No."

"Then why are you mad at me?" he asked. "You didn't seem mad when you left the other day."

"Who said I was mad at you?" she said. "I'm not mad at you."

"Then can you please stop with the attitude," he said then put his hand to his heart, trying to add some humor to his next comment. "It's kinda hurting my feelings."

"What did you wanna talk about?" she asked.

"I just wanted to hang out with you. You never see…"

"I'm leaving," she said and started getting up to leave. He grabbed her by her arm to keep her from leaving. She sat back down and looked at him.

"Why are you avoiding my calls?"

"I'm not avoiding your calls."

"Then why aren't you returning my calls?"

She let out a sigh, deciding he wasn't going to leave her alone until she talked to him.

"After what happened…I just didn't want things to get weird between us," she said.

"Well you've done a good job of keeping that from happening," he said sarcastically, bringing a smile to her face.

"I'm sorry I ran out on you like that," she said feeling a little more comfortable with the conversation. "Just never really been in a situation like that."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "You told me."  
Her face turned red, but she didn't look at him.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable," he confessed. "I know you newbies usu…"

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable," she said interrupting him, not wanting to hear the unneeded and probably lewd comment he was about to make.

"Does that mean I can do it again?"

"No," she said laughing, and pushing him playfully.

"You're so mean to me," he said with a smile as he leaned back on the tree.

"I am not."

They sat a little while and watched as people passed by. "So what are you doing this summer?" he asked her.

"Summer school," she said leaning against the tree also. She decided that it hurt her back too much so she shifted a little so she was leaning against him.

"Why didn't you get a job working in the hospital?"

"I didn't know there were anymore openings for undergrads," she said.

"Of course there's openings, there's always openings," he told her. "You just have to know the right people."

"Do I know the right people?" she asked looking up at him hopefully.  
He laughed a little, "I think one of my teachers are looking for someone to work in his lab. I'll see what I can do."

"Cool," she said as she repositioned herself, so she was sitting between his legs and resting her back completely on his chest.

"So can I keep the panties?" he asked.

She turned her head so she could look back at him.

"What?" he asked. "I liked them, they were cute on you… Even cuter off."

She put her face in her hands. She should have never let him know that she was embarrassed about what had happened, now he was going to taunt her with it.

* * *

"Lets sit it here," Greg said as him and Danny carried the couch into the living room of the house they had started renting out.

"What else do we have?" Danny asked as he sat on the sofa. "I'm tired."

"All we have left is the dinning room table and a few more boxes."

They heard a horn blowing outside. They thought it was Mike since he had volunteered to help them move, but hadn't gotten there yet. They were too tired to move so they waited for whoever it was to come inside.

"Why didn't you guys come outside?" Lisa asked as she walked through the front door.

"Why didn't you bring one of the boxes inside?" Danny responded.

"I wanted you guys to come and see the new car my dad bought for me," she said excitedly.

"What kind of car did you get?" Danny asked her.

"A red 1985 Camaro convertible," she said proudly.

"Your dad bought you car," Greg said, still sitting on the couch. "What'd you do? Get married?"  
She had told him enough about her dad for him to know that he could be a total asshole to her when she wasn't doing what he wanted her to do.

"Nooo," she said, "but with my begging, my mom's nagging, and me spending everyday of my two week break with Scott, he decided to buy it for me."

"Why did you spend your entire break with Scott?" Greg asked her.

"Because it would help me get the car," she told him, ignoring the jealousy in his comment. "Now get up and come see it."

They both got up and followed her out of the door.

"Lisa, I think we should trade cars," Danny said passing his fingers along the side of the car and staring at it approvingly.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Greg asked her. "I mean without running into things."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You guy's wanna go for a ride after you finish unpacking?"

"Maybe some other time," Danny said. "Becca and I are supposed to be going out for dinner in a few hours."

"You and Becca?" she asked surprised. "When did that happen?"

"You see how much you miss when you always wanna run home to mommy and daddy," Greg taunted her.

"Shut up," she told him.

"I'm going to start getting the rest of these boxes in the house," Danny said as he went back over to his truck.

"I'll be there in a minute," Greg said. He then turned back to Lisa. "I talked to my teacher."

"And? What'd he say?" she asked, getting excited.

"You owe me big time," he said with a smile.

She let out a squeal before jumping into his arms. "Thank you so much. I do owe you big time."

"I can think of a few ways you can repay me," he said as he grabbed her butt. She hit him on the shoulders, making him put her back on the ground.

"What? You said you owed me," he told her.

"Yeah as in dinner," she told him.  
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"So, why don't you ever go home?" she asked after taking a sip of her soda.

He had taken her up on her offer for diner. Everybody else was busy so they ended up going alone.

"I never want to," he said simply. She saw the change in his posture and facial expression, but decided to keep pushing it. After all, he had read her diary, more than once.

"Why don't you want to?" she continued. "Don't you miss your mom and dad?" He had already told her that he was an only child.

"My mom, sometimes," he said. "My dad, not so much."

"Not even a little bit?"  
He shook his head.

"You have to miss him a little bit. I mean even I miss my dad sometimes. He can't be as big of an asshole as my dad."

"Oh, you have no idea," he told her.

She stared at him for a while. "So you don't go home to visit your mom because of your dad?"

"She understands, trust me," he reassured her.

"Was he abusive?" she asked him.

"Not physically."

A red head walked up to their table before she could pry any further.

"Hi Greg," she said, seemingly happy to see him.

"Hey Liz. What are you doing here?" Normally he would have waved her off, but he was happy for the interruption since Lisa seemed set on talking about his father.

"Just came to get something to eat with some of my friends," she said. "Is this your girlfriend?" she asked in a not so giddy tone as she looked towards Lisa.

"No," he said. "We're just friends." Lisa suddenly felt those jealous butterflies rise up in her stomach again.

"Oh," the girl said, and stuck her hand out to Lisa. "Hi, my name's Elizabeth."

"Lisa," she said sounding disinterested as she shook the girl's hand. He couldn't help the smirk that came to his face as he noticed how dryly she had answered the girl. He continued staring at her, amused by the sudden flash of jealousy rising up in her, as the girl continued to ramble on. He had never known that she was in to him like that, well he knew she was attracted to him, after what had happened at his old apartment, but he was attracted to a lot of girls, he never got jealous over them. She noticed him starring at her and quickly looked away, knowing he had sensed her dislike of the girl.

"Well I better get back to my friends before they leave me," she said. "Greg you should call me. You still have my number right?"

"Yeah," he said not sure if he did or didn't. But he was too focused on Lisa and his recent discovery to care.

"Good," she said. "Well I'll talk to you later."

He continued smiling at her, not saying anything, as she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"What?" she asked trying to sound a little irritated.

"You're jealous," he told her.

"Of who?" she asked, trying to act like she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Of Liz that's who," he told her.

"I wasn't jealous of Karen or Jenna or Heather or Robyn….the list could go on," she told him. "Why would I be jealous of Liz?"

"I don't know," he said smirking at her knowingly. Her façade wasn't fooling him at all. "You tell me."

She looked away nervously. "I know there are a lot of topics to choose from but could we please talk about something else other than the endless list of girls you've slept with? "

"Fine," he said, still smiling. "Do you like me?"

"Not very much right now. No," she told him.

"You want me Lisa. You can't admit it."

She let out a sigh of frustration. She wanted to shut him up, and she knew the only way to do that would be to play his game.

"That's absurd," she said leaning forward on the table to get closer to him. "We both know that if I want you, I can have you," she smiled at him seductively before getting up and walking towards the exit.

He sat at the table with his mouth open, wanting to say something, but at a loss for words. She was taunting him with the idea of sex, when just a few weeks ago she was avoiding him because of it. He picked up the receipt and looked at the total, before taking money out of his wallet and throwing it on the table. He was too intrigued by the recent events to care about the fact that he was paying for a meal she was suppose to pay for. He then got up and followed her out of the building. He hopped in the passenger seat of the car and just looked at her.

"Did you have sex with someone while you were gone?" he asked her.

"Why? Would that bother you?"

"I just wanna know where this sudden boost of sexuality comes from?"

"I didn't have sex with anyone. I'm just playing your game," she said with a smile before pulling out of the parking lot.


	8. Chapter 7

"I'm hungry," Lisa said sitting up on the sofa. "I think we should order pizza."

They were at Greg's place about to start studying. Danny was out with Becca and the rest of her friends had decided to go to the movies. Greg had decided to stay home and get some rest. Since he had started his third year rounds at the hospital, he didn't go out as much. She had decided to stay home with him, she liked their time alone, and the only time they seemed to get that now was when they were studying.

"Yeah that sounds good," he told her. "The numbers on the fridge."

She got up and walked over to the kitchen. He smiled as he watched her hips sway in the little jean shorts she had on. Trying not to get too sexual with her was becoming increasingly harder for him the pass couple of months, especially since she had started taunting him even more after realizing she had the power to. She would always get him hot, just to pull back right before things went 'too far' as she would put it. They had never gotten as far as that day in his bathroom. He was starting to think it was a one time thing. It was becoming increasingly harder for both of them to keep things under control, but they continued provoking each other. It was fun for them, the game they played, innocent flirting for her, and playing along in the hopes that he would get lucky and she wouldn't stop him, for him.

"Pizza's on its way," she said walking back into the living room with the cordless phone. She sat it on the coffee table in front of them, then laid down next to him on the sofa.

"Good," he said. "But can we please watch something other than Terms of Derangement ."

"It's Terms of Endearment," she corrected knowing he had messed it up on purpose. "You don't like it?"

"It's too sappy," he said.

"I like it."

"You would. It's a chick flick," he told her.

Before she had a chance to reply, the phone rang. He grabbed it off of the table and pressed talk.

"Hello?.... Oh hey Susan," he said getting up off of the couch. "What's up?" She watched him as he walked out of the living room and down the hall.

She rolled her eyes, a little upset knowing that it was a girl on the other end of the phone that he had just up and left her for. They weren't dating or anything, but she found herself becoming increasingly jealous when he talked to other females that she knew were more than just friends. She pushed it to the back of her mind and went back to watching the movie.

About twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. He had just come back into the living room, after talking with Susan entire time. He opened the door, paid the delivery guy, and headed back towards his room.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"We're studying in my room," he said before walking back down the hall.

She turned the television off and got up to follow him. She sat down at the desk he had against the wall, while he sat on the bed. They ate pizza and studied for a couple of hours before she got tired of studying. She shifted around in her chair a little and turned to see him. He was still focused intently on the book he was reading. She stared at his bare chest as he rested against the headboard, thinking how hot he was and hoping he would look up and start a conversation or something. She would have, but she didn't want to interrupt him…or did she. She was suddenly in a playful mood and felt like messing with him.

She got up and walked over to the bed before crawling between his legs laying her back against his chest. He adjusted to allow her to get comfortable, but never really looked away from his book, figuring she was just in one of her cuddling moods. He didn't respond so, she took it to the next step. She started to unbutton her shorts and slowly slid her zipper down. The sound of her zipper going down, brought his attention from the book to her hands and her shorts.

"Lise," he said laughing a little, knowing where it was probably going to lead. Another cold shower for him. "What are you doing?"

"What'd you mean?" she asked with a smile.

He took a deep breath and blew it out. "Not tonight Lise," he said. He was easily turned on these days. He hadn't had sex in a couple of weeks, seeing as he was on one of his busiest rotations. "I'm telling you. You're asking for something you're not…" he tried but she cut him off.

"These are new," she said running her fingers across the top of her red laced panties. "You like'em?"

He stared at them for a while, and couldn't help but to play along as a smile came to his face. "Ye….yeah," he stuttered. "Those are nice."

He slowly moved his hand down to replace hers and started rubbing the top edge of the material, letting some of his fingers trace across her skin as well. She turned her head to look back up at him and smiled, she was about to pull away, but he took the opportunity of her not paying attention to slip his hands inside of her panties. She let out a gasp and turned around to see for herself that his hand was indeed buried in the front of her panties. She let out a loud moan as she felt his finger pass gently over her button.

"Oops," he said quietly. "You see what you made me do."

She didn't respond, just moaned as he continued the movement. He pulled back a little, and ran a finger up and down her slit. Things had gotten a little further than she expected them too, but she didn't mind right then because she was becoming increasingly aroused. She put her hand on his forearm as he pushed a little harder and began to trace a line from her entrance to her nub and back again. She opened her legs a little more, so they rested across his, as she watched and felt his hand move around in her shorts. He was teasing her as he made small circles around her hole, trying to pay her back for teasing him. But that didn't last long. She slowly slid her hand down into her panties along with his and slowly pushed the two fingers he was teasing her with inside of her. Her breath hitched a little and she started to moan a little louder as he began to move his fingers around inside of her. She pulled her hand out and rested it on his forearm again, so she could have some guidance over his fingers as they slide in and out of her.

"Ooooh," she moaned out hoarsely as he curled his fingers inside of her, finding her spot. Her grip tightened on his arm as she closed her eyes, rested her head back on his shoulder, and started to buck her hips against his fingers. He smiled down at her, as she bit down on her lip with her eyes closed, he knew he was in full control now, and he had no plan on turning back. She had started this, and he was going to finish it.

He moved her hair out of the way and began to place soft, wet kisses on her neck.

"Does it feel good Lise?" he asked as he continued moving his fingers around inside of her.

"MMmmm," she moaned before answering. "Mmhhmm."

"Take off your shirt," he said as he began rolling the material up himself, "I wanna see if your panties match the top," he said still playing along with her little ploy to get him turned on.

She was too gone and hot to care so she grabbed the bottom of the shirt, that he had now pulled up halfway her stomach, and slipped it over her head.

"Nice," he said referring to the matching bra as he slid his fingers out of her, and began to play with her button again.

"Lisa," he said between the kisses he was now placing on her neck. "Your panties are soaked…I think you should take them off too."

He brought his other hand down and began to tug at the panties and shorts. She brought both her hands down and lifted up a little to help him. He dropped them on the floor after they had finally gotten them completely off. He put his hands on both of her knees and spread her legs wider to see her juices flowing between her thighs. He groaned a little as his member became fully erect at the sight. He brought both of his hands up to the straps of her bra and began to slide them down her arms. After her arms were free off the straps, he unhooked the clasp on the bra, and tossed it on the floor with the rest of her clothes. He slid from behind her and knelt in front of her. She looked at him, a little unsure, but still wanting to continue. They both knew that there was no turning back now. One hand went to the back of her neck as he pressed his lips to hers, while the other went to her hips. He tugged on her hips a little to get her to slide further down the bed and lie down. She complied. He held himself up with both hands one either side of her, as he began kissing her neck again. He knew she would have marks in the morning, but he didn't care. He began to kiss down her chest, stopping to pay a little attention to her breast before moving down her stomach, and then to her inner thighs. He wrapped one arm around her left thigh letting his palm rest on the inside, holding her legs a part. Her other leg rested across his shoulder, and his hand rested on her stomach, his fingers splayed across her lower abdomen to minimize her movement.

"Greg…" he heard her whisper nervously, this was new territory for her. He didn't hear anything related to the words "no" or "stop" so he paid her no attention. He stuck his tongue out and flicked it quickly across her nub, making her forget whatever she was about to say. She grabbed a whole of the sheets and her breath got caught in her throat when he did it again. He continued doing it picking up his pace until she was wiggling trying to get away from him. He brought his mouth down to her opening and began to lap at her juices before sticking his tongue inside of her and quickly pulling it out then repeating the action. He heard her let out a small cry as her hands went to the back of his head pushing his face deeper into her. He smiled against her when he realized how loud she was, and became appreciative of the fact that he had no roommate that night. He had known that she would be loud. He brought his lips back to her nub and began to kiss, pull, and suck on it. He tightened his grip on her as she again started to back away from him, pulling her back towards him. He heard her cry out his name as her legs clenched around his head, and she came hard. He continued lapping up her juices until he was able to free himself from the head lock. He began sliding his pants down as he crawled back up and kissed her, letting her taste herself on his tongue. He adjusted her legs so that her thighs rested across the upper portion of his his. He moved his hips closer to hers, knowing that the position would give him better leverage and a better angle.

She moaned into his mouth when she felt him rub the head of his shaft against her button.

"You see what you do to me Lisa," he told her before sliding his head down to her entrance then back up to her nub. He did this a couple of more times as he kissed her neck letting her get a little more wet, knowing it would hurt anyway. He slid himself back down to her entrance and looked into her face. The moment she opened her eyes and made eye contact with him, he slid the head of his shaft inside of her. She let out a small cry of pain and gripped onto his arms as she felt her flesh tare a little, and he gripped her hips and pressed his body down on her a little further to keep her from moving away from him.

"Oh my God," she panted as she tried to wiggle out of his grip.

He slid a little bit more of himself into her and she tried to close her legs to try and ease the pain, but her knees only came into contact with his hips. He had planned on a reaction like this knowing it was her first time, so he had purposely put her in a position where she couldn't do anything to get away from him. He figured with his experience, it would lessen her pain a little with him controlling everything. This way she couldn't make a sudden move causing more pain than needed and she couldn't pull away causing herself the trouble of having to be penetrated again. He felt every muscle in her body tense.

"Relax," he said as he started kissing her face and neck again, trying to get her mind off of the pain a little. He knew if she relaxed her muscles it wouldn't hurt as bad. As soon as she did he slid a little bit more of himself into her, but she tensed right back up.

"Lise you have to relax." he told her.

"It hurts.

"It's supposed to," he told her. "But if you relax your muscles it won't hurt as bad."

She nodded her head. And he continued until he was halfway inside of her. She tensed up again.

"Lisa if you don't re…," he started, but she cut him off.

"I am relaxed," she told him. "Maybe... you're just too big."

He held back his laughter, but his ego couldn't help the smirk that came to his face.

"It's not…," she was cut off when he slid the rest of himself into her. She dug her fingernails into his biceps as she tried to catch her breath. A groan escaped him, when he felt her tight, slick virgin walls fully surround his memeber. He had to get himself together. He didn't want her first time to be a fluke and he wanted to fully enjoy all the perks that came along with being with a virgin. Having not had sex in weeks and her tightness almost made him lose control of himself as soon as he had fully entered her.

After he had gathered himself, he brought his head down and captured her mouth with his. He waited until he felt her loosen up a little bit before he slowly withdrew almost completely and slowly reinserted himself back inside of her. She wrapped her arms around him and dug her nails into his back as he repeated the motion. He knew she would continue hurting for a while, so he moved slowly for a while before picking up his speed. They went at it for a little over an hour, before they finally found release. He brought his head down and kissed her one more time before he pulled out of her and rolled to the side, pulling her along with him.

She rested her head on his chest and smiled when she felt him start to run his fingers through her hair.

"I told you that you wasn't ready for it," he told her.

"Who said I wasn't ready for it?" she asked.

"It hurts," he said mocking her. "Ooh, Greg."

"Shut up," she said hitting him in the chest and laughing at his imitation of her. "I did not sound like that."

"Wanna bet?...Maybe we could video tape it next time so I can show you," he said with a smirk.

"I don't think so," she responded in a serious tone.

"Please," he said. "It'll be better next time, there won't be any pain… Well only good pain."

"Conceited much?" she said.

"Should I be?" he asked.

She was about to answer him, but couldn't lie. She didn't know if it was because she was a virgin and didn't have much experience, but she could now see the other half of the reason why girls where lined up to get with him. She was glad that she had allowed herself to go all the way with him. She was scared things would change between them, that he would see her differently and she would be left having given herself to someone only to have him reject her. That was her biggest fear about having sex for the first time. But she felt comfortable with him. He talked to her like he did before and she found it easy to talk to him. She was also happy that she had chosen him because he was good, really good, at least after the pain subsided. He just smiled, knowing the answer and pulled her closer as he began rubbing small circles in her back. Not soon after their conversation ended she fell asleep and he was soon behind her.

He woke a few hours later to the sound of his beeper going off on his night stand. They had only given the thing to him a few months ago and he was already starting to hate it. He groaned as he reached over and grabbed it off of the night stand. He needed to get to the hospital, it wasn't an emergency, but he was expected in within the next couple of hours. He placed it back on the night stand and rolled back over to face the person that was lying on his other arm, which by now was numb. He smiled when he realized that it wasn't another one of his dreams he had about her. He started to caress her thigh that was draped across his leg. He instantly got turned on again as his hand made its way up her leg. It stopped on her butt and he gave it a squeeze. She groaned tiredly, and he smiled as he turned back onto his side. He grabbed her leg and wrapped it around his waist before he thrust himself into her. Her eyes shot open and she let out a long lust filled moan. He continued to thrust into her slowly.

He wanted her to have the experience without the pain. And though he knew she was probably still a little sore, it wouldn't be half as bad as the night before. She proved it as she immediately began moving her hips against him.

"Lise, you're a little nympho," he whispered as he brought his face closer to hers. "I like it."

He pressed his lips to hers and turned her on her back so he was on top of her, as he continued to move his hips into hers. The headboard began to knock against the wall breaking the nostalgic silence of the morning. She wrapped one leg around his waist while the other lay stretched out and wrapped around his calf. He kept a slow steady pace, only speeding up when he felt her breathing shallow.

"You're so tight Lisa," he grunted as he continued to pick up his pace. "You feel so good."

Her breathing started to come in small gasps that fell against his lips as the knocking of the headboard became more frequent. With every thrust he gave she felt a small wave of electricity shoot through her, starting from her center and spreading out to her limbs. She brought her other leg up wrapping it around his waist also. She arched into him as she moaned out his name and let her orgasm overcome her. He released himself into her a few seconds later.

They lay like that, entangled in each other for a few minutes before he spoke.

"I have to go," he told her. "I have to get to the hospital. You can stay here if you want. I don't know what time I'll be back."

It was a Saturday morning, and she didn't really have anything to do and she was too exhausted from the prior night's events and the encore that had just taken place to get up and leave. "Okay, I'll stay here."

He leaned down and kissed her one last time before extracting himself from her arms and legs and going into the bathroom to go shower and change. When he returned she was wrapped up in the covers and had fallen asleep again. He walked over to the bed and brushed a few wild curls from her face and a smile came across his face as he watched her sleep for a while. He caught himself and pulled himself away from her, realizing he was getting too caught up in her. He grabbed his backpack and his keys and headed out the door.

* * *

**A/N: More smut. I hope you guys liked it. I altered it a little bit from it's original version. Oh, and apparently Before He Was One was nominated for a fanfiction award!!!!!!!!!!!!  
**


	9. Chapter 8

Lisa rolled out of bed at about twelve. She saw that she was still alone in the house, Greg nor Danny had returned home yet. She looked out of the window to see a dark gray sky that looked like it was about to open up at any moment. She went to take a shower and found one of Greg's t-shirts and a pair of his sweats, both which were too big for her, and pulled them on. She searched around his room looking for some type of lotion to moisturize her skin after using the skin drying guy soap. She pulled open the top drawer of his nightstand and found some boxes of condoms. Some of them unopened, and others were missing some. She felt a small flutter of panic in her stomach when she realized that they hadn't used one, but quickly brushed it off. There was nothing for her to start worrying about yet. She made a mental note to herself to go to the health center the first thing Monday morning to get on birth control pills. Since some of the boxes were missing some condoms, she figured that he at least used them with other girls. She hoped he used them every time, and mentally kicked herself for being so stupid as to not make him use one. She found the lotion in the bottom drawer of the night stand.

She made her way into the kitchen and found some microwavable food to eat, which seemed to be all they had. She would have gone back to their dorm, but Kelly was gone for the weekend and she knew since Danny wasn't there, that he was probably back at their place with Becca. She grabbed the remote and crashed on the couch for a couple of hours before Greg came home. He walked through the front door a little wet from the rain that had just started to fall.

"Hey," he said when he saw that she was still there.

"Hey," she replied. "Had fun?"

"Tons," he said sarcastically. "I'm working with a bunch of idiots."

She smiled, having become accustomed to his disdain for most of his superiors and peers too. He dropped his backpack on the chair next to the sofa she was sitting on. He turned around and studied her before a smile came to his face.

"Nice shirt," he told her. "It looks good on you." She smiled back at him and he turned to go down the hall. Not long after she heard the shower turn on and she turned back to the television. About fifteen minutes later he came back into the living room with a pair of black sweat pants similar to the gray ones she had on. He lowered himself down to the sofa with a groan. He settled himself between her legs and wrapped his arms around her back, resting his head on her stomach. She began running her fingers through his hair.

"So what'd you do while I was gone, besides be lazy?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she told him. "Somebody told me that it was okay to just be lazy sometimes."

"That somebody is very wise," he told her.

"I did find a whole bunch of condoms in your top drawer," she told him.

"You went through my things," he said trying to sound offended. He wasn't really offended, she always went through his things, as he did with her. That's just the way they were with each other; nothing to hide because they weren't in a relationship.

"I was looking for lotion," she told him.

"Bottom drawer," he said.

"Well I know that now," she said then hesitated before she continued. "Did you use condoms with the other girls you slept with?"

"Of course," he said raising his head to look her in the face.

"All of them?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Every time?"

"Yeah," he asked a little confused. "Why? I don't have anything if that's what you're thinking?"

"No, it's not that," she corrected him, although she was happy to hear that he practiced safe sex. But there was still one question. "Why didn't you use one with me?"

"Why didn't you make me use one?"

"I don't know," she said shrugging her shoulders. "I guess it sorta slipped my mind."

"Mine too," he said. "I never forget, but I know I'm clean, and I know you're clean, unless you've been injected with something."

"There's still other things that can happen besides STDs," she told him.

"Oh," he said with a smile. "I hope your luck's not that bad. It would suck for you to get knocked up after your first time. God, I hope my luck's not that bad."

"What are you trying to say?" she asked hitting him in the shoulder playfully.

"It's not you," he told her. "It's just the thought of having kids."

"You don't want kids?" she asked him.

"Nope."

"Ever?"

"Never," he told her.

"You're just saying that," she told him.

"Yeah, because it's true."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm sane," he told her.

"You'll change your mind later."

"Yeah, if they start crying diamonds and pooping gold," he said making her laugh. "I take it you wanna subject yourself to the torture."

"If you're referring to kids," she started, "of course I want kids…some day."

"Then what's the big deal between you and your father?" he asked her. "Get married to the frat boy and let him take care of you while you stay home popping out little brown haired frat babies."

"I don't even like Scott in that way," she started, knowing who he was referring to, by 'frat boy', "I don't want anyone to have to take care of me, and I want to be a doctor."

"If you had to choose between one , which would you choose?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again once she realized that she had never really thought about it, and that the answer was harder than she would have expected it to be. He noticed this little moment of doubt, but she quickly regained confidence and her chin lifted a little as she responded. "It doesn't matter," she told him, "because I don't have to choose."

"Ooh, nice recovery," he told her, as he laid his head back on her stomach and went back to watching television. She was good at avoiding situations that were uncomfortable for her, but not as good as him.

They stayed like that for a few hours, talking and watching television as the sky opened up outside and drenched everything that lay beneath. Their quiet evening inside was brought to an end when one of Greg's friends called and invited him out for drinks. The rain had slowed and he had been inside all day, so he was happy to get out and do something. He invited her along, which he usually did when he knew some of the other guy's were going to bring their girlfriends. Not that they were in a relationship or anything, but it was nice to have her around, especially since she could out drink any girl they brought along and hold her own with the guys also.

* * *

When they got to O'Shanahan's, Greg noticed three of his friends and two other girls sitting at a table against the wall. He and Lisa walked over and joined them, ordering their first round of drinks, while their friends were on their third. He introduced her to the one guy she didn't know, and his friend Gabe introduced them to the two girls, Samantha and Christina. Christina had short black hair that made her bright blue eyes pop, she was a pretty girl, but so was her friend Samantha. It didn't take Greg long to realize that Samantha was flirting with him. She was a strawberry blond with bluish-green eyes. Any other time he would have openly flirted back with her, but it felt a little weird after he and Lisa had had sex. He wanted to flirt with her, he was attracted to her, but he had been on the receiving end of a woman's wrath before and he never really knew what set them off. So he decided not to be his usual self, but he still didn't give her the cold shoulder. He didn't see anything wrong with flirting with her because he and Lisa weren't in a relationship. He figured the weirdness would pass and he could go back to being his usual self in front of her.

Lisa also picked up on Samantha's flirting and was relieved when Greg didn't seem to be responding to her advances in his usual way. She wasn't a paranoid or jealous person, so she didn't think twice about it when Greg got her number along with the other girl and guy's they had met that night.

* * *

"You didn't come home last Friday night," Becca said as she and Kelly sat down on Lisa's bed.

Becca and Kelly had been picking behind her for the longest trying to get her to tell them what was going on between her and Greg. Up until now, there was nothing to tell. And though she had something to tell, that didn't mean she was going to voluntarily give up the information.

"Neither did Danny," she said putting the book down, knowing she wasn't going to finish reading it anytime soon.

"Ah ha," Kelly said pointing an accusing finger. "So you did spend the night with Greg."

She didn't answer them right away. She just crossed her arms and looked at them, trying to seem irritated. She hoped that they would buy it and back off.

"What makes you think that?" she asked them.

"How else would you know that Danny didn't come home unless you were at his house?" Becca asked.

Kelly having one of her slow days, was the next to say something. "Wait, if Danny didn't come home…" her eyes got wide as she looked at her friend, "…Ooooh Becca!"

"Shut up."This is about Lisa remember? She's the one still holding her V-card," she said before turning to Lisa and smiling, "at least she was anyway." She continued. "So if you weren't with Greg, where were you?"

"None of your business," she told them.

"You were with Greg," Kelly told her. "You wouldn't spend the night with anyone else. We can all see how hooked you are on him... although I can't blame you. You should just do him and get it over with."

She rolled her eyes and got up off of the bed to go to her closet, trying to hide the telling smile that came to her face.

"Maybe she already did," Becca told Kelly.

"You two are unbelievable," Lisa told them turning around to face them again. "You both have your own boyfriends, why are you so concerned with my life?"

"Because we know everything that's going on in our relationships," Becca told her. "That makes other people's relationships much more interesting. "

"Yeah," Kelly said sitting up on the bed and getting serious. "So tell me Lise, is he as good as they say he is?"

Her mouth fell open at her friend's bluntness, both girls still looking at her awaiting the answer. After she got over the shock and the actual question registered, she couldn't stop the smile that came to her face.

"I knew it!" Becca exclaimed. "You slept with Greg."

She didn't reply, just turned back to her desk as if she was rummaging through it for something, not wanting her friends to see how much redder her face was becoming.

"So are you guy's officially in a relationship?" Kelly asked.  
She turned around slowly to face them; both of them still staring at her trying to get more info out of her.

"No," she told them, "not officially."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Kelly asked her.

"It just never came up."

"Well maybe you should bring it up," Becca told her. "I thought you wanted an exclusive relationship with him."

"I did," she told them then corrected herself. "I do." She really didn't think it was a big deal. She knew he didn't see her like he saw the other girls who he would sleep with a few times, only to discard them and find another one a week later.

"Where are you going?" Kelly asked her when she saw her starting to put her books and tablets in her book bag.

"Over to Greg's," she said, picking up her back pack. She then looked at their faces and saw their expressions. "To study." She told them in disbelief of how fast their minds went to dirty places.

* * *

"No, not on call this weekend," he said answering her question. They had stopped studying a few minutes ago and where now lying across his bed talking. He was lying on his back and she was lying on her stomach."Why? Are you staying over?" He asked wishing that she would so he could get a repeat of the weekend before or the Wednesday that followed.

"I don't know," she said smiling at him. "Maybe."

"You might as well just stay," he told her as he wrapped his arm around her pulling her towards him. She crossed her left leg over him so she was straddling him. "You know you want to."

He put his hands on her face and pulled her down to him, pressing their lips together. He let his hands slip from her face and down to her body, as he began caressing her curves. Before things could get too heated they heard a loud banging coming from the front door.

"Ignore it," he whispered against her lips, "he has a key."

He captured her lips with his again, but the banging continued... and continued.

"Dude open up!" they heard Danny yell from the front door. "I forgot my key."

House let out a frustrated sigh making Lisa laugh. She climbed off of him and he got up to go unlock the door. She heard the door open, and the two of them started a conversation. Apparently something had gone down with one of their friends whom she didn't know. Greg came back into the room and started to put on his tennis.

"Hey, have to go help bail David out of jail," he said. "You staying?"

"Yeah, I'll stay," she told him, deciding to save the questions until he got back.

"Okay I'll be back in a few," he said before giving her a quick peck on the lips and leaving again.

She smiled at the gesture. She figured she'd get a little more studying in while they were gone. She grabbed her book, and started reading, but was soon interrupted by the telephone. She didn't have to go far seeing as Greg had left it on his nightstand.

She picked it up and pressed the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hi," a female's voice came over the speaker, "is Greg there?"

"Uhh, no he's not, may I take a message?" she asked, not too concerned about it.

"Yeah, tell him Sam called," the girl started. Lisa instantly remembered the girl from the pub. The girl continued. "I was just calling to see if we were still on for our date tomorrow."

Lisa's heart sank. She couldn't believe it. She had thought she would be different, but clearly she wasn't.

"Hello?" the girl said after not getting a response from her.

"Uhhh, yeah," Lisa stuttered. "I'll tell him."

She pressed the talk button again to hang up the phone and sat there staring at the floor. Trying not to believe what had just happened, but not being able to deny it. He was going out with another girl, still sleeping around with different girls, after she had given herself to him. The tears started to fall as she came to the realization that she was in fact going to be just another notch on his bed post. But what did she expect. She hadn't asked him to commit to anything, and he had made no effort to volunteer to do so. She kicked herself for being so stupid. She wanted to talk to him about it, but she knew what he would say. They weren't an item, why would things be any different with her, and he was probably right, but she was still mad as hell. That anger made her tears stop flowing immediately. She dried her face, grabbed her books and her keys, slipped on her shoes and headed out of the door.  
000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Lise," he called out as he walked down the hall to his bedroom. "Lisa," he called out again after she didn't answer. He opened the door to his bedroom and looked in. She wasn't in his room. He knocked on the bathroom door. "Lise, you in there?" No answer. He opened the door. She had left. He went back into his room and grabbed the cordless phone off of his bed, picked it up and dialed her room number.

"Hello?" she said hoarsely from the other end of the phone. He attributed her hoarseness to her having been alseep.

"Why'd you leave?" he asked her.

She instantly picked up on his voice and got defensive. "Because I wanted too."

"But you said you were going to stay until I ca…," he tried, but she cut him off.

"I changed my mind," she said dryly.

He picked up on her coldness. "Lise, why are you mad at me? What did I do?"

"Nothing," she said brushing him off.

"It must be something," he told her. "You just up and left without saying anything, then I call you and you all but bite my head off. What happened?"

"Samantha called while you were out," she told him. "I hope you enjoy your date tomorrow."

"Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief. "That's why you left?"

"Yeah," she said offended about his dismissive attitude towards the subject. "And don't try to put it off like it's nothing."

"It is nothing," he told her, getting a little defensive himself. "I'm going on a date with another girl, so what? I've been going on dates with other girls since I met you. What changed?" he asked rhetorically. "Us sleeping together? Sorry, I didn't know that made us a couple."

His disregard for the whole thing brought the tears back to her eyes. "You son of bitch," she spat.

He heard the anger and hurt in her voice and immediately regretted his words. "I'm sorry, Lise. I didn't me…," he tried, but the sound of the phone slamming into its cradle on the other end cut him off.

"Fuck!," he yelled cursing himself and his inability to sometimes filter the words that came out of his mouth.

What had happened between them, had definitely meant something to him. And that scared him a little. He wasn't ready for a relationship, he wasn't ready to feel for someone the way he was beginning to feel for her. He hadn't made any promises to her so he still had a chance to run and avoid the situation. He figured the best way to do that was to get back to his old habits, and continue dating like he always had. He had no intentions of getting rid of her like he had the other girls. She had to know that. He had much more respect and feelings for her than he did any of the other girls he had ever been with. She also had to know that the date with Samantha, meant nothing to him. She was just going to be another one to two week fling for him. Now he started thinking about all of the things he should have told her, not that she would have accepted the fact that she was going to be the main girl in his life while he still got his little play things on the side, but it would have been a little better than what had just happened. Why couldn't he think of that when he was on the phone with her.

"You okay man?" Danny asked peeping into the room. He had heard the loud outburst.

"Yeah," he told him, not wanting to discuss the feelings he wasn't supposed to be having. "I'm fine," he lied.

"Okay," Danny said unconvinced before closing the door again.

Greg slowly pulled himself into his bed, which didn't help, since the pillow…her pillow since they had moved into the house, still held the scent of her shampoo. He buried his face into the pillow and inhaled her scent, groaning at the way life seemed to have a way of rubbing things in your face when you least needed it.

* * *

**A/N: I can't answer if she's pregnant yet because that would be giving the story away. Sorry. But I hoped you guys liked this chapter or liked disliking it since the drama unfolded at the end.**


	10. Chapter 9

Lisa stayed in her room the rest of the weekend, most of the time in bed. The only time she left was to get something to eat. She managed to pull herself out of bed to attend classes that week, but went right back to bed as soon as they were over, mostly because she didn't want to run into him. It was only a couple of weeks into the fall semester so, she didn't have any tests coming up to study for. Becca and Kelly knew something was wrong from the way she was moping around, but every time they asked, she would tell them everything was fine and go back to her room. She couldn't believe what he had said, and didn't know why he had said it. He had called back that night and even came over the next day, but she had refused to see or talk to him. He had voiced his apologies from the other side of the door and pleaded with her to open the door so they could talk, she never did. It was now Friday and he had shown up to one of her classes, but she just got up and walked out. She was now on her way back to her dorm room, and he was walking close behind her. She opened the door to the common room and tried to slam the door behind her, but he caught it. She unlocked her bedroom door and was about to walk in until he grabbed her by her arm, and turned her around to face him.

"Lisa why won't you just talk to me?" he asked her.

"Let go of me," she said pulling her arm away from him. They just stared at each other. It felt like she was burning wholes through him with her eyes. She rolled her eyes at him and was about to open the door to her bedroom again, but he put his hand on the door knob not allowing her to open it.

"No," he told her. "You're going to talk to me…or at least let me explain."

"Explain what?" she asked him. "How you only pretended to be my friend so you could get into my pants, only it took a lot longer than those other girls?"

"No," he said offended by her accusations. "You know that's not what I was doing."

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do," he told her. "If that was all I wanted I could've gotten that anywhere, hell I was getting that the whole time I knew you."

"Well I guess some things will never change."

"You can't blame me for this," he told her. "I didn't know what you were expecting of me."

"You didn't know?" she asked, now getting offended all over again. "What do you mean? Did you think I was like those other girls you've been with that just sleep around with anybody?"

"No, I didn't think you were like that. I knew you weren't."

"Well what did you think?" she asked him.

"I didn't," he stuttered and shrugged his shoulders, realizing that he was still the only person to blame for the situation. "I don't know what I thought. I was being an idiot," he said trying to reach out to her.

She took a step backwards to keep the space between them. "Get the hell away from me," she told him with malice in her voice. He just looked at her, his hurt showing in his eyes. At that moment she enjoyed seeing him like in pain. She wanted him to feel what she had been feeling for the past couple of weeks. "I don't ever want to see you again."

"Lise you don't mean that."

"Like hell I don't," she told him. She went into her bedroom and slammed the door in his face, before locking it.

He stood on the other side of the door, not knowing if she had meant what she had just said. He didn't think she really meant it, but she said it with so much hate that he couldn't be sure. So he did what she asked of him.

"Fine," he said from the other side of the door. "If that's what you want… I'll leave you alone."

She sat on her bed listening to him. It took everything in her to keep from getting up and stopping him from leaving, but she was still too hurt and angry with him for her heart to over rule her mind. She heard the front door to the suite close and she buried her face in her pillows and cried herself to sleep.

He stood outside of her dorm, fighting the urge to go back in and keep banging on the door until she agreed to talk with him. But at this point he felt that he could talk until he turned blue in the face, and it wouldn't change anything. 'The one relationship that actually means something to you and you some how manage to screw it up,' he said to himself. He began to walk slowly towards the hospital seeing as that would be the better use of his time. He would actually be able to think of something else other than her. If he went home, he would just mope around the house for the rest of the day, at the hospital he would actually be able to get some work done.

* * *

They were a month into the fall semester, and Lisa had just finished her first group of tests of the semester. She was happy she didn't have to study since that weekend was the weekend of the Fall Festival. It was a pretty day and she had decided that it was time to start getting out of the house again. She had been depressed about Greg long enough, and she wasn't going to get over him until she made herself get over him. She had decided to go with Jacob, a boy from one of her elective classes. He was a junior majoring in engineering, and he was nice and pretty good looking. He was about five eleven, with short black hair and light green eyes. He was medium build and he worked out so he was very muscular. She was in her mirror, brushing her hair up into a ponytail when she heard a knock at the door. He had been hitting on her since the first day of class, and told her that she was the only reason he stayed in the class. She had given into his shameless flirting and agreed to go to the festival with him when he asked. She heard Kelly yell 'Got it," so she didn't bother to rush to the door. She heard Jacob exchange greetings with her roommate, then he asked for her and Kelly told him to hold on. She heard a small knock on her bedroom door then Kelly opened the door and slid in.

"Where'd you meet him?" Kelly asked her.

"He's in one of my classes," she said smirking, already knowing what her boy-crazy friend was thinking.

"What classes are you taking?" she asked, sounding a little disappointed. "I never have hot guys like that in my classes. You think I should change my major?"

Lisa finished putting her hair into a ponytail, letting some of her shorter curls fall freely around her face. She sighed and turned around to her friend and put her hands on her shoulders. She knew the girl was serious so she told her in all seriousness, "No Kelly, I don't think you should change your major just to pick up guys." She changed her tone. "So how do I look?"

She had on some brown flat shoes with a pair of low cut, dark blue skinny legged jeans and a brown belt, with an off the shoulder earth toned shear patterned shirt that stopped right below her navel with an elastic band. The shirt continued about a half inch past the band, leaving some of her skin exposed right above where her jeans started. She spun around so Kelly could get a better look at her outfit.

"You look good girl," Kelly told her. "Can I borrow that outfit?"

She smiled and rolled her eyes playfully at her friend. "Bye Kelly, I'll see you later tonight."

"Not if you're lucky," was her reply.

"What are you laughing at?" Jacob asked her as she walked into the common room.

"Nothing," she told him wrapping her arms around him as he pulled her into a hug. "Just something Kelly said."

"Wow, you look good," he said staring her down.

She looked down to the floor and blushed a little. "Thank you," she said tucking some of her loose curls behind her ear.

"You ready?" he asked grabbing her hand.  
She smiled and nodded and he led her out of the door.  
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"Oooh, lets go on that one," Amy said as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You sure you wanna go on that one?" he asked her looking up at the ride.

"Yeah," she said. "Why? Are you scared Greg?"  
He looked down and smiled at her before leaning down and kissing her.

"Com'on," he said pulling her by her hand towards the line for the ride.

He was taking a break from the booth him and some of his med school friends had set up at the festival. This gave him time to actually do something with Amy, since she had been hanging out around the booth all day waiting for him to get a break. He hadn't seen Lisa in a couple of weeks, and did his best to push her out of his mind, though he was usually unsuccessful. He had been keeping tabs on her through Becca and Kelly. He figured that she hadn't told them what had happened since they weren't mad with him. He continued dating other girls, figuring that would keep his mind off of things, and not wanting to show the effect that she actually had on him.

Amy stood on her toes and placed another kiss on his lips. "So what are we doing tonight after the festival?"

"I don't know?" he asked raising one of his eyebrows suggestively. "What do you wanna do?"

"Well," she said smiling and pressing her body closer to his, "I figured we could go back to your place and…,"

The girl kept talking, but that was the last thing Greg heard. He had caught a glimpse of a familiar face and figure out of the corner of his eyes. He looked up and saw that it was Lisa standing further up in the line with some other guy who had his arms wrapped around her. He ignored the flutter in his heart that he felt that screamed he missed her and that he should go and talk to her. They were standing and talking to a group of other people who he didn't recognize. His eyes couldn't help but to roam her body. He missed holding her in his arms, he missed touching and kissing her, he missed everything about her. He spotted the guy's hand lingering at her waist, his fingers caressing the exposed skin right above her jeans and she leaned her head back against his shoulders and smiled, amused at whatever he had just whispered in her ear. Her head turned to the side and they instantly locked eyes. Her smile faded, but she didn't turn away, neither did he.

She felt butterflies rise in her stomach. They soon turned jealous when she saw the girl hanging on to him. She didn't know why she still felt so jealous, but she did and she couldn't push those feelings back down. He noticed that her facial expressions changed when she noticed Amy and a small smirk came to his face. She still had feelings for him, all wasn't lost. She noticed the smirk on his face and felt her face turn read with anger. She felt Jacob bury his face in her neck and his lips brush against her neck. A smile came to her face and she turned around to face Jacob. She wrapped her arms around his neck and bit down on her bottom lip, drawing his attention to her full lips. He easily got the hint and leaned down to kiss her. She felt his tongue brush against her lips and knowing all eyes that mattered were still on her, she opened her mouth and allowed him excess.

Greg's smirk quickly dissipated into a scowl as he watched the guy stick his tongue down her throat and his hands starting to explore her body which he once considered his… well he still considered her to be his, though he knew he had no right to. She pulled away from the kiss and her eyes quickly darted to the side to make sure he was still looking…he was, but she saw his smile was gone.

"Greg?" he heard Amy say. He turned back to her, prying his eyes away from Lisa and the guy he had quickly learned to dislike.

"Huh?" He asked. He had forgotten about Amy.

"Did you hear me?" she asked.

He knew he was in trouble. He had no idea what the girl had just said, but he kept his cool and quickly thought about the last thing he had heard her say. "Yeah, we can go back to my place after," he told her with a smile. That must have been good enough for her because she returned his smile and gave him another quick peck on the lips before turning to face the front of the line.  
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"Here?" Jacob said putting his brown leather jacket he had just gotten form his car around her shoulders. It was starting to turn dark and it was getting cooler. She had told him she was cold and he had offered to go to his car to get her a jacket.

"Thanks," she said smiling up at him. She pulled it tighter around her and they kept talking.

"So, you having fun?" he asked her as they began to walk through the festival. Although it was dark, there was still a lot of people there.

"Yeah," she told him. "I actually had a great time today."

"So does that mean you wouldn't mind going out with me again?" he asked her.

"No," she said with a smile. "I'd love to go out with you again."

She was pleasantly surprised that he actually had an interesting personality. Most of the guy's she had met, that were even modestly handsome were either really boring or really arrogant. Well except for Greg. Sure he was a little arrogant every now and then, but it was always in a playful mood…well it seemed that way to her anyway.

"Good," he said smiling back at her. He grabbed her hand and they continued walking for a little while longer before stopping in front of a food cart. "I'm gonna go get a hot dog. You want one?"

"No, not really hungry," she said.

"Okay, I'll be right back." He walked over and got in the line.  
She stood standing in the same spot waiting for him. She felt a strong hand grab her around her wrist and pull her into a dimly lit place, which she quickly found out to be the Fun House. She was only able to see the persons back as he pulled her farther into the display. She fought against him and finally pulled free, partially due to him loosening his grip. They were in a lighted part of the attraction where no one else seemed to be at the time, he turned to face her.

"Greg what the hell are you doing?" she asked, now pissed off.

"This," he said pushing her gently against the wall and bringing his lips down on hers.

She kissed back for a little while before she realized what she was doing and pushed him away. She stared at him a little out of breath from the kiss.

"You kissed back," he told her. "That means lover boy out there is still second to moi."

"Obviously," she said sarcastically. "That's why I'm here with him and not you."

She was about to walk away, but he grabbed her by her wrist again stopping her. He waited until she turned to look at him.

"What are you doing here with him?" he asked in a more serious tone.

"Well I was having fun until you tried to kidnap me," she said.

"Oh kill the drama queen act," he told her. "You're not a kid, but you're sure acting like one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked getting annoyed.

"You knew I was watching you when you were kissing lover boy," he told her.

"His name is Jacob," she told him, "and I believe I can kiss whoever I want."

"You did it for show."

"Who's show Greg?" she asked him, knowing he was right, but not willing to admit it. "Yours?"

"You knew I was looking and you knew I wouldn't like it," he told her.

"Hmm, well I'm sorry about that Greg," she said. "But I didn't know us sleeping together meant that we were a couple."

He drew his eyebrows in and his jaw twitched a little, that was the only physical indication that showed how much her words had pierced him. But she could see the hurt and sadness in his eyes. Her expression softened a little and she almost hated herself for being so cold towards him. No matter how hard she tried to deny it or how much she wished it wasn't so, she still had deep feelings for him. But these where his words, the words he had used against her. She was only turning his words around on him.

"Lisa?" she heard Jacob calling out from somewhere in the front of the fun house. "You in here?"

"I have to go," she said quietly as she turned to walk away.

He grabbed her hand again, stopping her. There eyes locked once more as she turned to face him.

"Don't go with him," he said with pleading eyes. She stared at him, debating his words, knowing that with them he was also asking her to stay with him. The pain he had caused her was still too fresh for her to do what he was asking of her. She turned away and started to pull her hand away from him.

"Lisa please," he called out to her as she walked away from him. She didn't turn around, and she soon disappeared into the darkness of the display.

"Shit," he said quietly to himself. He started to go behind her and cause a big commotion, but he knew that would only make her more upset with him than she was right now. He gathered himself before he left the fun house, looking for Amy. He was ready to head home and hopefully forget about Lisa and her little lover boy.

* * *

**A/N: I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story, but more reviews would be nice. **


	11. Chapter 10

Greg fumbled with his keys and finally managed to unlock the front door to the house. He stumbled through the front door as he continued to kiss Amy. The girl began clawing at his shirt the moment they stumbled into his bed room. She tossed his shirt to the side and her hands quickly went to his belt buckle as his hands continued roaming her body. He managed to get her pants off before they fell onto his bed, her straddling him. She pulled away from the kiss and sat up, smiling at him seductively before pulling her shirt over her head. She then slid her bra straps down her arms exposing herself. This would have gotten Greg more aroused if his mind wasn't being plagued with images of Lisa and the guy he saw her with at the fair. He couldn't help, but to think if they were in a similar situation as he and Amy. The girl leaned down again pressing herself against him as she began to kiss him again. He kissed back, but his mind quickly drifted back to Lisa. Images of her and the guy rolling around in the covers, skin on skin, his hands in places Greg didn't want them. It frustrated him. He put his hands on Amy's shoulders and pushed her back a little bit to break the kiss. She looked at him confused.

"What's the matter?" she asked him, a little concerned.

"I think I'm losing my mind," he said, mad at himself now for letting her get to him like this.

Amy took it as a joke and smiled. "Let me help you," she said with a smile as she leaned down to kiss him again. Again he stopped her.

"I can't do this," he told her, "not right now."

"Why not?" she asked him . "Was it something I did?" She figured it had to be her. It was unheard of for Greg House to turn down a chance to get laid.

"No, no," he told her, now feeling a little bad for her. "It's not you. It's definitely not you," he said giving her and her boobs a once over. "It's just…I just remembered something that I have to do."

"Right now?" she asked in disbelief. She had never heard of something so important that it over rode a guy's natural instinct to get laid.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he said sitting up and looking down at her twins. "You might wanna put those away."

The girl looked at him, still a little shocked before she climbed off of him and redressed. He offered to give her a ride home, and she accepted. She got off of his bike, and asked him if he was sure that he was okay. He reassured her he ways, although he was questioning his sanity at the moment. He made sure she got back into her apartment okay before starting a slow drive back home; with the images of Lisa and the guy still plaguing him.  
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Lisa had been back in her dorm for about a half hour. Jacob had walked her up to her dorm and he had tried to talk his way in, but she had sent him on his way with a good night kiss. She wasn't ready to get that deep with another guy just yet. He had told her that he would call her, so they could talk and set up their next date. She had gone in, taken a shower and put on an over sized night shirt to sleep in. She got into bed and watched a little television, mostly satisfied with the way the night had gone. She had had a good time with Jacob, and Greg was jealous. She had to admit it to herself, she had never seen him get this upset over any other female. But then again, she had never seen any other female turn him down the way she had. She figured it was probably just an ego thing. She still figured however that Greg had gone home with the girl he was at the festival with.

She hadn't been asleep thirty minutes before she heard a loud banging on the door. She jumped out of bed, figuring something was wrong, especially since neither Becca nor Kelly had made it home yet. She opened the front door and saw Greg.

"What's wrong?" she asked concerned, still figuring something was wrong.

He just stared at her and started to look her up and down with an almost angry look on his face. He tried to lift up her shirt to see if she had panties on under it, but she quickly knocked his hand away.

"What the hell?" she said starting to get the idea that nothing was wrong. He walked pass her searching the living room before starting towards her bedroom. "You damn near wake up the whole building for …," she stopped realizing what he was doing. "Are you kidding me?"

He just looked back at her still seemingly upset before he turned the door knob to her bedroom and searched around. She was walking over to go in behind him, but before she made it into the room, he was coming back out looking a little less upset after not having found any trace of Jacob. She just stared at him waiting for an explanation.

"What?" he asked, trying to act ignorant about the whole thing.

"Found what you were looking for?"

"Actually I didn't," he told her. "But don't worry, I like those results better."

He was about to leave, but she started talking again. "So you can screw as many girls as you want, but I can't even go out on a date with someone unless you're acting like this?"

"You can go out with whomever you please," he told her. "Remember we're not together."

"Oh, I remember," she told him. "It's you who seem to have forgotten."

"No," he told her still trying to cover up. "I remember."

She folded her arms and tilted her head to the side, still staring at him. "Soo," he said not really knowing what to do now as he looked around the living room grasping for an idea. His eyes came to rest on the television. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Goodnight Greg," she told him as she began to push him towards the door.

"Wait," he said planting his feet firmly, so she couldn't push him anymore. He turned around to face her. "Since I'm here we might as well talk," he said in a more serious tone.

She looked at the floor as if in thought and shook her head. She brought her eyes back to his.  
"There's nothing for us to talk about," she said, sadly.

He just stared at her, again hurt by her words. She walked around him and opened the door for him. "Please leave."

He stared at her for a moment, making her look down to the floor. She couldn't look at him and hold her ground. She had to look away or else she would end up letting him stay. He walked slowly towards the door and stopped in front of her looking down at her. She shifted uncomfortably but didn't bother to look up at him. He saw that she wasn't going to change her mind, so he left without a word. She closed the door behind him and locked it before going back to bed. She knew she wasn't going to fall easily back into her sleep, but at least she had the comforting thought of knowing he wasn't with the girl she had seen him with.

He got back on his bike and drove towards his house. She had rejected him again, and there was nothing he could do about it. He realized how much he must have hurt her, and started to feel even worse about it. He thought that she would at least get over it enough to talk to him, but clearly she hadn't, and it didn't seem like she planed on getting over it anytime soon. He had lost a really good friend, which possibly could have turned into his best friend. He had hurt her, and he had never meant to do that. He was starting to rethink his whole lifestyle.

* * *

…4 months later…

It was now a few weeks before the beginning of the spring semester and Greg, Danny, and Jacob were helping Lisa and her friends move into their new apartment. Greg didn't too much like the fact that Jacob was there, mostly because he and Lisa had grown increasingly closer, while Greg's relationship with her seemed stagnant. He had been dating Lisa for a few months and Greg was getting tired of having him around. They still hadn't really talked about what had happened, but they had started hanging out, with their other friends around of course. At least she seemed like her anger towards him had faded, until he tried to talk to her about it at least or he pulled one of his little stunts to try and sabotage her and Jacob's relationship. He had stopped doing that recently, seeing that it was getting him further on her bad side, rather than having the desired effect. He had slowed his promiscuous lifestyle, and had started seeing at least one girl a month. He still had needs.

"I can get that," Lisa said grabbing the box from him. He was a little upset, she hadn't let him help carry any of her things yet. That was the sole reason he had grabbed the box, because he saw her name on it. He looked at her as she walked away, and noticed Jacob walking up on side of him. He quickly swatted at the box, making the boy drop it.

"Woops," he said with a smirk, as the boy just glared at him before bending down to pick up the items that had fallen from the box.

Lisa rolled her eyes and for a minute, looked like she was about to come back and help him pick up the stuff. "It's okay babe," he told her. "I've got it."

"Are you sure?" she asked, prepared to put the box down and help him.

"Yeah," he said. "This is the last box to your room anyway." She rolled her eyes at Greg again. He just smiled and followed her into the house.

"Why would you pick the middle of the winter to move?" he asked her.

"Because," she told him, "we had to move before the semester started."

"You could've waited until the summer."

"Didn't want to be in a dorm for another semester," she told him.  
He looked around the room, figuring he wouldn't get to see the inside of it very much. He noticed the dark cherry wood desk he was standing next too.

"Nice desk," he said as he sat down on top of it and ran his hand across the surface. "It's huge."

"Thanks," she said glancing up at him. "My parents bought it for me as a Christmas present."

"That reminds me," he said hopping off of the desk. He walked over to her where she was currently unpacking some clothes and hanging them up in the closet. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a birthday card. "Happy Birthday," he said holding it out to her. She looked at the card a little unsure, before looking back up to him. She hadn't expected him to remember that today was her birthday. No one else had, well her parents had called but that was it.

"Well aren't you going to take it?" he asked her.

"Thanks," she said as she took the card from him. She looked at the front and a small smile appeared when she saw a young lady on the front and the words '_Who cares if your teenage years are behind you…_'. She was expecting something humorous borderline insulting to be on the inside. She opened the card and saw that he had filled it out himself. This brought another smile to her face.

_'So your best years are behind you and you only have old in front of you._' "So far so good," she mumbled to herself and kept reading.

_'Somehow you still seem to get more beautiful every time I see you. I know it probably doesn't matter, but you are the most beautiful girl that I have ever known…inside and out. And I know I probably shouldn't say this, but I wish you were spending this day with me instead of Jacob the Jackass. (Please don't hit me, your hands are small, but they can really hurt) Anyway, I guess I'll have to celebrate alone. Can't let my new found holiday pass just like that. You know I'm always looking for a reason to party, and what better reason can I have than the anniversary of one of the best days of my life._

_Happy Birthday Lise,_

_From Greg'_

"This is so sweet," she said as she turned to give him a hug.

"Don't tell me you're crying," he said when he heard her sniffle. "You're such a baby."

"Shut up," she said pulling away from him and wiping away the few tears that had fallen. "I can't believe you wrote this," she said looking the card over.

"Yeah, well it took me a few hours to think of it, then another few for me to convince myself to write it down," he told her jokingly. "But what can I say. You make me sappy."

"Thanks, I think," she said with a laugh. "It was um…, it was really nice."

They just stared at each other, neither breaking eye contact. They both wanted so bad to say something, but neither wanted to be the first to speak. When Greg had finally decided to say something, Jacob came in the room, destroying his chance. He saw the card in her hand.

"Whose birthday is it?" he asked reaching for the card. She pulled it away from him, and put it behind her back.

"Mine. It's from a friend ," she said explaining her actions. "It's personal."

He didn't seem to mind. "I didn't know today was your birthday," he told her. "You wanna do something tonight?"

"Yeah, sure," she said with a smile, diverting her full attention to Jacob. Greg took this as his queue to leave, seeing as they had started their own conversation forgetting he was in the room.  
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"Happy Birthday," Kelly said as Lisa and Jacob walked back into the living room with them. They had finished bringing everything into the house, and was finished unpacking for the day. "I'm sorry we forgot."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Danny asked. "We could've thrown you a party."

"It's no big deal," she said. "I had a lot going on with moving and everything, so I didn't wanna do anything big."

"So what are you two doing tonight to celebrate?" Becca asked them.

"We're going out to eat at Garibaldi's," Jacob said.

"Oooh, I love their food," Kelly said.

"Me too," Becca said.

"I got an idea," Greg chimed in, "Why don't we all go? I mean it could make up for the party we forgot to throw." Lisa glared at him, already knowing what he was doing.

"That's a good idea," Kelly said. Then she turned to Lisa. "If that's okay with you guys?"

Lisa and Jacob just looked at each other unsure of what the other wanted. "Sure," Lisa said. "We don't mind."

"Well it's almost five," Kelly said. "We better go get dressed if we're going anywhere."  
With that her and Becca left out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, I better get going to babe," Jacob said as he leaned over and gave Lisa a quick peck on the lips. "Be ready for eight?"

"Yeah, sure," she said following him out of the kitchen but not before shooting Greg a mean glare.

"Way to throw a wrench in that plan," Danny told him, also knowing what his friend had just done and why he had did it. "Com'on man we better get going if we're going to be ready for eight."

* * *

Greg was sitting on the sofa in the living room of the girls' new apartment. He had gotten Becca to let him in before she went over to their place to spend the night with Danny. Kelly was spending the night over at Sarah's and that gave Lisa and Jacob the house to themselves. He didn't like that idea, especially since Jacob couldn't seem to keep his hands off of Lisa and she didn't make any effort to stop him. He knew that they hadn't taken their relationship to the next level, because he had asked Kelly and Becca. They felt a little sorry for him, so they usually gave him the information he asked for. Lisa had started getting closer to Jacob, and he feared that they would be taking the next step soon. He couldn't let that happen, at least not without one last attempt at getting her back.  
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"Stop it," Lisa said giggling as she pushed Jacob's hand from under her shirt. She turned around and unlocked the door as he continued kissing on her neck. When she opened the door her face dropped at seeing Greg sitting comfortably on the sofa.

"Hi," he said cheerily making Jacob look at him. "What are you guy's doing here?...Oh yea, I forgot. Not my place."

Lisa just glared at him, before turning to Jacob. "Could you wait for me in my bedroom?" she asked him, before standing on her toes and pressing her lips to his. Greg's expression grew angrier the longer they held the kiss. She felt Jacob's hand go to her butt, and she started to feel uncomfortable. Not because he hadn't done that before, but because Greg was there. She pulled away from him and he winked at her and left to go into the bedroom.

"What are you doing here?" she asked taking off her coat.

"Waiting for Kelly to get back," he said innocently. "I have to ask her something."

"Kelly is at Sarah's," she said threw clenched teeth, quickly losing her patience. She knew that he already knew that.

"Oh really," he said as if it was news to him. "I'll wait," he smiled at her. "Guess you can't play doctor tonight."

"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work," she told him. "You can stay if you want, but you get what you ask for."

"Never knew you liked an audience," he yelled behind her as she stormed off down the hall towards her bedroom.

Greg frowned and waited, listening for the first suspicious sound that would cause him to go banging on her door. He didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later she was coming back into the living room.

"Wow that was quick."

"Leave," she said getting up in his face.

He just smiled at her. "Nope."

"I'll call the police," she told him.

"No you won't." He knew that she had stopped being that mad with him a long time ago.

"Ugghhh!" she screamed. "You are so frustrating."

"Sexually frustrating?"

"If I want to have sex with him, I will," she told him.

He just gestured towards her bedroom as if saying 'I'm not stopping you'.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked coming into the living room.

"Nothing," she said hiding the frustration in her voice. She eyed Greg one last time, knowing he wasn't budging before turning to Jacob. He had a house full of roommates, so she definitely wasn't going over to his place. She got up and walked over too him.

"I've got a headache," she told him. "I think I'm going to go take some medicine and go to sleep."

"Are you sure?" he asked disappointed.

"Yeah," she said before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "But you can come over tomorrow night," she said whispering so Greg wouldn't hear.

"I heard that," he announced from the sofa.

She rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Jacob. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked Jacob out the door and glared at Greg one last time, he just smiled, satisfied with himself. She started off towards her bedroom and he followed.


	12. Chapter 11

"You're pretty satisfied with yourself right now aren't you?" she asked him as she pulled some pajamas from her drawer.

"Aww I don't know," he said lying down on her bed and putting his hands behind his head. "I could get a little more satisfied."

She rolled her eyes at him and went into the bathroom to put on her night clothes. When she came back in the room he had made himself a little more comfortable, by taking off his shirt.

"Nice try," she told him. "You can either leave or hit the sofa."

"Naw, I thought I'd stay in here and talk with you."

"You show up at my apartment, refuse to leave so I can have some alone time with my boyfriend, now yo…," she tried to finish but he cut her off.

"So he's your boyfriend now?" he asked her with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," she almost yelled at him. "For like a couple of months now, in case you haven't been around to notice…oh wait, you have been around… you're always around even when you're not wanted. Like tonight."

"Well if you would've just talked to me, I would be out of you're hair by now."

"So you mean to tell me that if I'd just let you talk, this could all have been avoided; tonight, all the taunting, and messing with Jacob?"

He just nodded.

"Okay then," she said folding her arms. "Talk." She stared at him waiting for him to talk.

"Well now I'm nervous."

"You're full of shit," she said waving him off. She was about to walk away from him, but he jumped up off of the bed and grabbed her arm.

"Lise wait," he said pulling her back to stand in front of him. He looked into her eyes, and cursed himself. After months of wanting to talk to her and planning what he would say, it was all lost to him. He decided to just wing it, and for once be truthful. "I'm sorry."

She shifted her weight and waited for him to continue. "What I said and did was stupid."

"Well I think I said that a few times my self," she told him.

"More than a few actually," he told her. "It was new territory for me."

"Yeah, because you don't screw a different girl every week," she said sarcastically.

"Not the sex," he told her. "The feelings that came along with it." He watched as her facial expression changed and she seemed to be a little more interested in what he was saying. "Usually I would meet a girl, have sex with her, and then get rid of her before I could find out anything about her. But you were different. I knew too much about you, I was caught up before we even got to have sex. And that freaked me out, so I had to get back to what I knew best. And unfortunately that happened to be trying to get with every hot female that I came across. I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that. And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not good with expressing my feelings."

She smiled up at him. "Yeah I've noticed," she said quietly, having bared witnessed to a lot of the crazy things he did to get his feelings across, which people still never really seemed to get unless they were fluent in 'House'. She thought about the birthday card. "But you're getting better."

"So does that mean you finally forgive me?" he asked hopefully.

She sighed. "Yeah, I forgive you."

"Okay now there's no take backs," he told her. "You can't bring it up when you get mad at me because that's an automatic win for you."

She laughed at him, knowing that a lot of arguing would probably be going on. "I said I forgive you," she told him, letting him know that it was indeed over and forgotten about.

"So can I stay?" he asked. "It's a little cold outside."

"Sure," she said with a smile. "The sofa's all yours." He smiled back at her, amused at her attempt to get rid of him. She should have known that wasn't going to work.

"I don't think so," he said mostly to himself.

She started to walk pass him to get to her bed, but he pulled her back by her arm and pushed her up against the wall before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. She didn't kiss back right away, and tried to push him off. The fists that were hitting him in his chest trying to push him away quickly came to wrap around his neck as she opened her mouth to allow his tongue access. He couldn't help the smile that came to his face when she started to kiss back. He had her right where he wanted her. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head with one of his hands as his lips moved to her neck. His other hand started to roam her body and quickly found its way under her shirt. She began letting out soft moans at the feel of his lips on her neck. He started to pull her shirt upward as he continued biting and kissing on her neck. He lifted her shirt until it rested high on her chest, exposing her tight stomach and her breasts to him. He heard her gasp and felt her struggle a little against him to free her hands as he brought his lips down to her left breast. But he had a firm grip on her as he flicked his tongue at her erect nipple. He took it in his mouth and began to nibble and suck on it.

She struggled harder to free her hands so she could bring them down to his neck and gain some control in the situation. But he had her right where he wanted her, completely under his control, and for some reason that made the pool of moister between her thighs grow that much quicker. She felt his hands start to caress her ass as he continued sucking on her breast. She then felt his fingers dip just inside of the waistband of her loose pajama bottoms. He started to slowly pull them downward.

"Step out of them," he told her after letting her breast go with a loud smacking sound, letting her know that he had enjoyed it almost as much as her. He only pulled her pants down to the point where he wouldn't have to let go of her wrists. He wasn't ready to give her back control just yet. She stepped out of her pants and a loud moan escaped her as she felt his mouth now on her right breast. He pulled his hand a little further up the wall, bringing her wrist along with it so that she was now standing on her toes. She heard another loud smacking sound as he again pulled his mouth away from her breast. He took a deep breath as he stood back and looked at her in just her boy cut shorts and her t-shirt still riding high on her chest, exposing her now glistening nipples. She bit down on her lip and shook her head flipping a stray curl out of her face as she stared at him, waiting to see what he would do next. He gave an audible groan as his erection began to throb in his pants, and a smile came to her face, knowing she had that effect on him. She had long gotten over her shyness about sex and her body, but he knew that he still had some things he needed to teach her. He knew that having sex with her meant that this would officially become a relationship. There would be no way of getting out of it this time, without losing her for good. She had reduced him to titles, and this made him decide on what the first lesson would be.

He pressed his lips back to hers as his hand again went to her almost bare back side, using the hand that was still holding her wrists to lean against the wall. She moaned into his mouth when he gave her a firm smack on the butt before moving his hand to her stomach. His fingers ran circles around her belly button and he felt her smile against his lips. He smiled and pulled away,

"Ticklish, I see," he said as his hands began to slide farther down. He pressed his palm against her stomach and slid his fingers into her panties. She couldn't hold back her moan as his fingers instantly slid between her folds. Her eyes quickly darted down to see his hands moving around in her panties.

"Mmm, you're so wet," he said making her look back up at him. "Did I get you this wet Lise? Are you wet for me?" He asked staring her in her eyes.

She moaned and closed her eyes as she felt his finger brush across her button. "Look at me Lisa," he said softly as he continued to run his finger over the sensitive bundle of nerves. She opened her eyes and looked into his. "Are you wet for me?" he repeated.

She knew what he wanted just like all along he had known what she had wanted. He had made a silent agreement to give it to her, but he wanted what he considered to be one of the most ultimate ego boosts. And right know, half naked with her arms pinned above her head and her body making her mind betray her, she was in no position to refuse him of that.

"Huh Lise? Are you wet for me?"

"Yeah," she breathed out. He smiled at her as his finger slid deeper into her panties towards her hole. She let out a small cry as she felt his fingers circle her entrance before going back up to her nub. He again began to tease her button, as he brought his lips closer to her.

"Is this my pussy Lise?" he whispered before placing a soft kiss on her lips, and pulling back. "Is it mine?"

"Greg…" she panted knowing that if she didn't stop him, she was definitely going to fold. He didn't let her finish. He pressed his lips harder against hers, pushing his tongue into her mouth. He moved his finger back down to her hole, teasing her again.

"I said, is it mine?" he asked, his lips brushing against hers as he talked. She took the opportunity to bite down on his bottom lip, trying to pay him back for what he was trying to get her to admit to. He knew he was getting to her. He dipped two of his fingers into her hole, and she gasped letting go of his lip. He pulled his fingers out of her panties, and smiled at her and started to undo his jeans. He pushed them down with one hand and kicked them to the side. He then reached into his boxers, pulling out his long hard shaft and beginning to stroke it. He pulled down her panties and she stepped out of them, thinking he had given up on his quest for the ego boost he was looking for. He pushed the head of himself against her nub and slid it down to her entrance. He held himself there, and she looked at him confused. Her hips buck instinctively trying to get him to slide inside of her, but he pulled back just in time.

"Not yet," he told her bringing his face closer to hers. "You still haven't answered my question. Is this pussy mine?"

He put the head of his member inside of her and pulled it right back out. He felt her fight against him again to free her arms and let out a frustrated sigh. She looked up at him, and to preserve her sanity answered him. "Yeah."

"Yeah, what?"

"It's yours," she told him with pleading eyes. He smiled, finally letting go of her hands as he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he turned away from the wall and placed her on top of the desk. He pulled her shirt completely off. And pressed his lips to hers as he pushed his boxers all the way down. He stepped out of them and kicked them to the side. He gripped her hips and pulled away from the kiss as he pulled her closer to the edge of the desk. She propped herself up on her elbows and her mouth fell open, her breath caught in her throat, as she felt him began to push himself into her.

"Oh…Greg," she moaned out as she felt him fill her, but still not all the way inside of her yet. She lifted one of her legs so that her foot rested on top of the desk and opened her legs wider as he pushed the last of himself into her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and angled her hips so that he would have easier access as he gripped onto her hips and began to thrust himself deep inside of her. He sped up his pace, pounding his hips into hers so hard that they could here the sound of their skin smacking together. It didn't take her too long to reach her first orgasm, crying out his name as she did so. He slowed his pace allowing her to catch her breath. He pulled himself out of her, and grabbed her hand pulling her off of the desk. He turned her around and grabbed her wrists again, placing her hands on the desk. He trailed his hands all the way up her arms and then down her body, until the reached her hips. He grabbed the back of her right leg and raised it up until her knee was resting on top of the desk. He brought his hands back to her hips and applied a little pressure making her tilt her hips up to him. He groaned again when he saw the juices dripping from her folds and down the inside of her thighs. He grabbed the base of his shaft and entered her from behind.

She let out a small cry and moved closer to the desk as he seemed to be going even deeper inside of her. He just grabbed her by her hips to keep her from moving away.

"Take it, Lise," he told her as he tightened his grip on her. He pulled her back into him and smacked her ass. "Take it."

She moaned as she tried to get used to the new depth he had found inside of her. He made a few more thrusts before she began pushing her hips back into him. "That's it Lise," he grunted as he tightened his grip on her and picked up the pace. "Fuck me back."

They went at it for a while before he felt himself getting close. He slid his hand in front of her and began to stroke her button. A few moments later she found herself screaming out his name yet again, when another orgasm over came her. The feel of her silk walls clenching down on him and the sounds she made as she rode out the waves of her own orgasm, brought him to his own a few strokes later. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"Let's get to bed," he said before releasing his hold on her. She put her leg down and tried to take a step, but her legs were still a little too wobbly. He smiled as he saw her grab hold of the desk for support.

He scooped her up in his arms, "The second half of my birthday present," he said as he began to walk towards the bed.

"So I don't have to pay?" she asked with a smile on her face. He tossed her down on the bed, and she started laughing at him as she rolled over to make room for him. She crawled under the covers and snuggled up next to him. They started talking about different things, but the pillow talk didn't last long before Lisa fell asleep. Greg smiled and pulled her closer as he too drifted off to sleep, not soon after.


	13. Chapter 12

"Do you really think I'll get in?" she asked him as she lay out across his bed with her legs stretched out across his.

They had been dating for a little over a year now, and it was coming to the end of her junior year; the end of his last year in medical school. So far, as far as she knew anyway, he had stayed faithful to her the whole time they were together. She figured that was a good sign, seeing as how everyone knew they were dating, and if he were to hook up with some girl, the girl would have made sure that it had gotten back to her. At first it was a huge shock to the social community that Gregory House had taken himself off of the market, to just be with one girl. Lisa had quickly gained a whole new set of enemies and friends across the campus. Whenever she was out on campus, most girls would just shoot her a mean glare, but some would actually come up and try to talk to her. She knew the sole reason for that most of the time was that they wanted to get closer to Greg. She had also become more popular with the guys on campus after her figure had filled out a little more. Greg would say her larger boobs, hips, and ass was due to the sex she was getting, but she attributed to a surge of hormones that kicked in once she hit her twenties. He didn't mind her getting more attention from other guys, it also served to boost his ego. Being able to claim her as his, and knowing and letting them know that she was off limits to all but him. He had almost gotten into a fight with Jacob, the day after her birthday when she had broken up with him. She had also become more of a partier after she began getting A's with ease in most of her classes. This was just another turn on for Greg. He had always known that she was smart, but she turned out to be even smarter than he expected, which was a huge plus. That meant he could talk to her about things that she had no idea about yet, like some medical topics, and she would catch on with ease. She was even able to debate him about it sometimes. And though she would lose most of the time, she always brought up some interesting points. The party girl she had become was another turn on. He had had no idea how much of a wild child she really was, and suddenly understood some of the other complications with her and her parents' relationship.

"You are going to graduate with a 3.94 gpa, assuming you don't mess it up next year," he told her before strumming another chord on his guitar. "You probably aced the MCAT last week," he hit another chord. "You volunteer a lot, too much if you ask me," he strummed another chord and a smile came to her face as she rolled her eyes at him. "And you have great boobs and an ass that won't quit," he told her," and struck another chord before looking over and smiling at her.

She smiled back, as she sat up on the bed. "Glad you think so, but I doubt the people on the admissions committee will be looking at my boobs or my ass," she placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Have you seen the people on the admissions committees?" He asked as he pulled her closer and she adjusted her legs so she was straddling him. "They are a bunch of old guys that are too involved in their work, and haven't seen any action in years," he kissed her again. "They get off on admitting girls that look like you into their schools. I know I'd let you into my school."

She smiled at him before pressing her lips to his, starting a very intense makeout session.

"Guy's com'on," Danny said as he opened Greg's bedroom door and saw them kissing. "It's the middle of the afternoon, at least wait until it's dark." He threw the mail on the bed next to them.

"Thanks Danny," Greg said as they both started laughing at him.

"Yeah whatever," he said closing the door.

Greg went though the mail, he had thrown three envelopes aside before he came to one that caught his attention. He threw the other in his hand in the discarded pile, not even bothering to look at it. He immediately ripped into the one in his hand.

"What's that?" Lisa asked seeing the anxious look on his face.

"Letter from Hopkins," he told her.

"Well hurry up. Open it," she said as she climbed off of his lap. She knew that he had been waiting to see where he would be doing his residency. And although he willingly voiced his disdain for the administrative staff for kicking him out of the med school, she knew he really wanted to go back there for his residency. She also knew that he had a pretty good chance, despite the circumstances. She was torn between hoping that he would get it for his sake, and hoping he wouldn't for hers. They were just really starting to get comfortable with their relationship, well he was anyway, she had been comfortable with it for a few months now, and she didn't want to lose him. But she wanted him to be happy. After all, she would've wanted him to be happy for her, if she had gotten into her first choice of medical schools and she had to leave him.

"That's what I'm trying to do," he said as he pulled the letter from the envelope. He unfolded the paper and they both started to read it, well she started to read, while he just scanned it to find the most vital piece of information on the paper. After all, if he hadn't gotten the position, it didn't make any sense to read the rest of it.

"I got it," he told her. She looked up at him and he had a smirk on his face. He got up off of the bed and paced the room as if it was still sinking in. "I got the residency at Hopkins," he said a little louder.

He looked over at her and she forced a smile for his sake. She had thought that it would be easier than this, since this was what he wanted, but her heart sunk at hearing this.

Danny came back into the room having heard his acclamation. "Well buddy, it looks like this is where we part ways," he said with a big smile on his face then held up a letter of his own, "because I'm going to Cali."

Lisa watched as the two of them celebrated with each other and made plans about the celebration party, Danny obviously more visibly happy than Greg. It was no surprise to her that Danny also got his first choice, he was pretty smart, although he rarely acted like it. She wished she could be genuinely happier for them, but she couldn't. She diverted her eyes from the floor, breaking herself from her daydreams, and back to his eyes after Danny had left the room. He sat next to her and pressed his lips to hers.

"Baby I got the position at Hopkins," he told her excitedly, as if she hadn't been in the room the whole time.

"That's great," she said with a forced smile. "I'm excited for you."  
But he was too good at reading people, and even more so her, to not notice something was wrong. This dampened his spirits a little.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she denied. "Why would you think something's wrong?"

"Maybe because you just said you were excited, and your face reads everything but that."

She just looked at him, with sad eyes. He would be leaving in only a few weeks. His residency started in June and it was already nearing the end of April. Then it hit him, and his facial expression changed. She got up from the bed and picked up her backpack.

"I better get going," she said morosely.

"Where are you going?" he asked standing up to stop her.

"I have to go study," she said. "Finals are coming up in a few weeks."

He grabbed her hand as she started to walk away from him. "Lisa, I'm not leaving you," he told her to make it known. He held up the letter in his hand. "It's just…," he didn't know what the say. In truth he was leaving her, though not because he wanted to.

"I know," she gave him an accepting nod, before she pulled away from him and left, headed back towards her place.

He didn't go behind her because he didn't know what to say or do. He couldn't reassure her of the situation because he couldn't reassure himself about it. Frankly, he didn't believe that there was any reassurance to be found in the whole thing.

* * *

He knocked on her bedroom door and waited for her to answer. He had finally caught her home. She had been avoiding him for the last few days, and had only talked to him briefly over the phone. She opened the door, and looked up at him. He just stared at her waiting for her to say something. He had come to her, but she had been avoiding him and he deserved an explanation.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"You're avoiding me…again," he said. "And I haven't done anything wrong this time, so I'm a little confused."

She sighed and opened the door wider letting him come in. She closed the door behind him and watched as he made himself comfortable on her bed.

"I haven't done anything, have I?" he asked just to be sure. He learned a long time ago, his definition of wrong doing and hers were sometimes completely different.

"You haven't done anything," she told him. "I just think we need to get used to not being around each other as much…that's all."

"Don't you think we should spend time together while we can?"

"Why?" she asked him. "You're going to be leaving in three weeks."

"So that's it? You're breaking up with me? We're over just like that?" he asked. "Not even going to try the long distance relationship?"

"Yeah, because that'll work," she said with a half-hearted smile. "The guy who can't go a week without sex, in a long distance relationship with his girlfriend who is over five hundred miles away."

"We can try," he said earnestly.

She sighed dejectedly. "Greg I don't want you to feel tied to me, I don't want to hold you back," she told him. "You're probably going to find someone in Baltimore within a month of being there. Someone you can be with physically."

"It's not just about sex," he said standing up and walking over to her.

"I'm not just talking about sex," she corrected him. "I'm talking about someone you don't have to call on the telephone to tell them what a bad day you had in the hospital when someone gets on your nerves. We won't even know enough about each others' day to even argue the right way in a long distance relationship."

"I'm sure we can manage one good argument a week," he said with a smirk.

She smiled, and stood on her toes as she pulled him into a kiss. After they pulled back he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his arms. "I'm going to miss you."

He knew with those words that he was agreeing to the fact that their relationship would be over right then and there rather than when he left for Baltimore.

"I'm going to miss you too," she told him. They stood holding each other for a few more moments before he pulled away. He had seen her med school applications on her desk, and thought he had spotted a familiar letter head. He moved some of the papers and picked up the one he wanted to get a better look at.

"You're applying to Hopkins?" he said looking over the application.

"Yeah," she told him. "But I don't think I'll get in."

He turned around and looked at her. Hopkins was a hard school to get into just given its reputation, but he knew she would be a competitive candidate.

"I think you have a pretty good chance," he told her.

"I don't want our relationship to be conditional though," she said. "We do this long distance relationship thing for the next year thinking I'll get in and then I don't."

"I'm just saying," he told her letting her know he wasn't trying to imply anything. "Just call me if you need anything; any help figuring out applications. And keep me posted."

"I will," she agreed.

He walked over and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you later," he told her before walking out of the door.


	14. Chapter 13

"Is that the last of them?" the brunette asked as she watched him bring a load more of groceries into the house.

"Yeah that's it," he told her sitting them in the kitchen. "I'm gonna go check the phone messages."

"Okay," she said. "Then I'll get started on dinner."

Greg had met Stacy a little while after he had started his residency. They had known each other for about five months. They had met during a friendly paintball game between the doctors and the lawyers at the hospital. She flirtatiously shot him with a paintball and he had asked her out after. He had noticed her around the hospital, mostly because she flirted with him a lot, mostly from across the room through her eyes and smiles, since they had never talked before. She accepted and they had become good friends...with benefits. He wasn't quite sure that he was ready to get back into another serious relationship, and he knew that was what she was looking for. She was a good friend and he had learned his lesson about friendships and sex. And he let her know that he wasn't ready to give her what she needed and wanted. She accepted his friendship and his benefits. She had offered to cook dinner for the both of them that night if he brought the groceries, and since he had to go grocery shopping anyway, he agreed.

He listened to the messages deleting most of them before they had a chance to finish playing, mostly because they were from people he didn't care to talk to or they were calling to tell him something he already knew or something he didn't care to know. He started to listen more carefully when a familiar voice came from the speakers.

'Hey Greg, this is Lisa. I know we haven't talked in a while with both our schedules being as chaotic as they are. But I have some really great news so when you get this message call me back. I'll be home this time and I won't be sleep. The party's at our house tonight,' she said with a laugh, knowing that was the only reason why she would be home. 'So I'll talk to you later, and you better call because this is important. Bye.'

A smile came to his face. He hadn't heard her laugh or even heard her voice in a little over a month. They had talked almost every day after he moved until he started his residency. Then their schedules started to clash and it was hard to get in touch with one another. They would call, but they would always miss each other. He would be in the hospital when she called, or she would be in class or studying when he called. Their friendship still remained strong though. He picked up the phone and began dialing the number to their apartment.

"Hello?" An unfamiliar female voice came over the phone.

"Yeah, is Lisa there?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, who?" she said, obviously not being able to hear him through all of the noise in the background.

"Lisa," he said a little louder.

"Oh, Partypants," she said with a giggle. "Hold on let me get her."

'Partypants?' he thought to himself with a smirk. He heard the girl tell Lisa that she had a phone call. Then he heard her tell somebody she'll be right back. She must have gone to her room, because he could hear the noise quiet down as she moved away from it.

"Hello?" she said into the speaker

"Partypants?" he said with a hint of laughter in his voice. She instantly recognized his voice and started laughing. "Lise what have you been doing?"

"It's not like it sounds," she said still laughing a little, letting him know there was some truth to the nickname. "Trust me you've done worst."

"Yeah whatever," he told her. "So why'd you call? What's the good news?"

"Oh," she said, suddenly sounding excited. "I got an interview for med school."

"Well I figured you would," he told her. "You're so obsessive you applied to like twenty schools."

"Shut up," she told him. "I got more than one interview, but I also got one at Hopkins, next month."

"That's good, " he said feeling his excitement rise a little also. Although he had a very busy life, he still found himself thinking about her at times. He really missed her and it would be great if she could end up going to med school at Hopkins. "You're as good as in now. "

"How do you figure?" she asked.

"Because all you have to do is wear one of those tight skirts and show some cleavage, and those old fogies will never turn you down."

"This may come as a surprise to you," she told him seriously, but in a playful way, "but I would rather not use my body to get me into med school. I'm smart enough to get in without having to do that."

"Yeah you are," he agreed.

"So can I stay with you when I come down for the interview?" she asked.

"Hmm I don't know," he said trying to sound serious. "This decision would be a lot easier if you used your body to convince me."

"Greg," she pleaded, knowing he was just being difficult.

"Okay, you can stay with me," he told her. "Just let me know when you're coming."

"Well the interview is on the seventeenth, a Friday," she told him. "So I'll be coming in that Thursday…would it be alright if I stay until that Sunday. I really wanna get a feel for the area and I wanna spend some time with you. I miss you," she said sounding a little more serious and a little less excited.

"Yeah, you can stay," he told her. The line got quiet for a little while, before she began to speak again.

"And I'm going to need for you to pick me up from the airport," she said. "Will you be able to do that or will you be too busy?"

"I should be able to do it," he told her. "If not, I'm sure I can get someone to come and get you."

"Okay thanks," she told him. "Well I guess I'll see you next month."

"I guess so. Just keep me posted on your flight time and everything."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye partypants," he said hanging up the phone before giving her a chance to reply.

Stacy noticed the smile on his face when he walked back into the kitchen. She had heard him talking to someone but couldn't make out the conversation. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Lisa," he told her.

"The girl from Michigan?" He had told her about Lisa and their relationship. She didn't really feel threatened by her, since they had agreed to end their relationship. From what he had told her, she knew that the girl was only a few years younger than her, but she seemed to be a little immature. It seemed that she had a lot more growing to do, and figured that the girl wouldn't be as good of a match for Greg as she was. She hadn't known Greg while he was at Michigan, but from what she knew about him now, he was more mature and had grown a lot since he came back to Baltimore.

"Yeah that's her," he said. "She's coming down next month. She has an interview at Hopkins."

"Oh," she said, not thrilled about the idea of the girl coming to live in Baltimore. "That's good. At least she has someone down here that she knows already."

"Yeah she's going to be staying with me while she's here," he said looking over her shoulder and into the pot. He saw that the food wasn't near ready and decided to go take a shower.

Stacy didn't like the idea that his ex would be staying with him. But she got over it quickly figuring the girl wouldn't be a threat to her.  
000000000000000000000000000000000

Lisa sat in her room listening to the crowd in the front of the apartment. She wasn't in a hurry to get back to partying and found herself anticipating the visit to Baltimore even more. She hadn't seen him in seven months. She had cried a few times when he first left, though she never let him know that. But with the help of her friends, she had come to terms with not having him around anymore. She too wasn't ready for another serious relationship. She ended up taking a chapter from his book, but that didn't have anything to do with the nickname 'partypants'. No, that was a whole other situation that involved a drunken night of streaking, and a pair of pants that somehow ended up in the school fountain. She really hoped that she would get into Hopkins. It was one of her first choices along with U. Mich. med school. Hopkins was a great school, and would serve as a great foundation for her medical career, and so would U. Mich. She knew she had a better chance of getting into Michigan because it would be her alma mater, but having him there at Hopkins ultimately made it her number one choice. She knew things probably wouldn't go back to being the same as they were before he left, but they were still good friends, and she missed their friendship. Most of her friends at Michigan would be graduating soon, so there was no real reason to stay there.

"Hey Lise," Kelly said opening her door, "guess who just showed up?...Jacob," the girl replied not giving her a chance to answer.

Another smile came to Lisa's face. She had found herself wondering lately if she could get Jacob back after what had happened between him and her when she started dating Greg. She knew it would be a challenge, but she liked challenges. She had started back talking to him about a month ago. He was a little apprehensive, but that wasn't anything a little flirting couldn't take care of. She got up off of the bed and followed Kelly out of the room. He was there; so far her plan was working. She just needed to see if she could go all the way.

* * *

…3 ½ weeks later…

Greg looked around the airport seeing if he could spot Lisa. He had made sure that he was a little early, after she had told him not to be late too many times to count and threatened him a few times while doing so. It was around seven and the airport was busy. Her flight was due in at 6:50 so he figured she should be showing up any second. He leaned on the wall, figuring if he didn't see her, she would see him. He started staring at and mentally criticizing the people around him when he heard her.

"Aww how sweet," she said when she realized he was staring at a couple hugging and kissing, as if they hadn't seen each other in years. He picked his head up quickly and his heart fluttered at the sight of seeing her again. Suddenly the couple didn't seem so corny, but of course he wouldn't let her know that.

"PDA is not an 'aww' moment he told her, more like an 'eww'," he said jokingly.

"Well I guess a hug would be out of the question then?" she said smiling at him.

He smiled and opened his arms as she walked into them and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer to him, burying his face in her neck. For her, it just felt good to be in his arms again, and for him her scent and the feel of her body brought back a lot of memories he thought he had dealt with. They held on to each other a little longer, as some of their old feelings for one another started to resurface. She was the first to pull away, she put her hands on his biceps while he still had his arms wrapped around her.

"So let's get going, I've got a big day tomorrow and I need to get some sleep."

He grabbed the heaviest bag, she had dropped next to him when she first walked up, and grabbed her hand leading them out of the airport towards his truck. He had given up his bike once he had found out it was really useless when you moved around a lot.  
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He dropped the bag on the sofa next to the one she had just placed there as she began taking of her coat. By the time he had taken off his, she was already walking around his apartment as if she was inspecting it. She surveyed the furniture in the living room and gave an approving nod, before going into the kitchen. He smiled as he watched her reaction to the full refrigerator.

"You have food that isn't microwavable," she said sounding impressed. "I'm proud of you."

She came back into the living room and sat on the huge chair placing her feet up on the ottoman."So," she started, "what are we doing this weekend?"

"What do you wanna do?" he said sitting on the couch.

"Well first, I wanna get through this interview," she said then looked up at the clock. "I guess I should probably take a shower and get to bed. What time are you going to take me?"

"What time do you have to be there?"

"Nine."

"I have to be there for eight thirty, so you can just come in with me," he told her.

"Cool," she said getting up out of the chair.

She grabbed her bag from the sofa and began walking down the hall in search of the bathroom. He smiled at the way she just made herself at home. He then turned back to some paperwork he had to do for work the next morning. By the time he finished it was close to eleven. He took a shower and when he went into his bedroom, he found her in his bed wrapped up in the covers on one side of his bed. He figured she was asleep. He lied down next to her and just stared at her. He couldn't quite, put his finger on it, but something about her had changed in the last few months. It wasn't a bad thing though. He liked her new heir of confidence. She had always been confident, but it showed more now. Maybe nothing hadn't really changed; maybe his break away from her had allowed him to see what was there before. One thing for sure was that she wasn't the same shy teenager, he had met back at Michigan. He brushed a few curls out of her face and she opened her eyes and smiled at him. She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest.

"I can't sleep," she said once he put his arm around her.

"You'll do fine on the interview," he reassured her as he began running his fingers through her hair, knowing that that was the reason she couldn't sleep. "You'll get in."

She closed her eyes, letting the feel of his fingers in her hair soothe her. "Think so?" she asked him.

"Yup," he said. "I've seen some of the people they've accepted and I think you'd make a much better doctor than most of them."

"They accepted you then took you back for your residency," she said.

"Well they have at least a few smart people working for them. Hopefully they will have a say in rather you're accepted."

She smiled, at the fact that his ego was still intact. He continued to run his fingers through her hair, and soon she fell asleep.

* * *

"Greg!" he heard, followed by a slap on his arm. He opened his eyes slowly to find Lisa staring down at him. She looked different. She had straightened her hair and she had on a stylish black pant suite, he figured she opted out of the skirt so she could feel like she fit in more in the male dominated profession. No matter how much she denied it, he knew her father's words had an affect on her.

"Get up!" she commanded, "we're going to be late. It's already seven forty-five."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" he grumbled. "You have over an hour to get there."

"Yeah, but you still have to get up and get dressed and…you're not even listening to me," she said when she realized that he hadn't just closed his eyes to purposely ignore her. He had fallen back asleep. She reached down and pinched his nipple and turned it.

"OWWW!" he yelled before pulling her down on the bed with hm. "What the hell Lise," he said trying to mask his anger.

"You're going to wrinkle my suite," she said pulling herself out of his grasp and standing back up. She began straightening out her suite.

"Yeah because that's what I'm worrying about when my nipple feels like it's on fire," he said angrily throwing the covers off of him. He started to walk slowly to the bathroom. He closed the door and satisfied when she heard the shower turn on, she went into the kitchen to find her some breakfast.

Twenty minutes later, he came in wearing a pair of scrubs. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and joined her at the table as she went over some notes she had made for herself.

"Ready for your interview, _Cuddy_?"

She glanced up at him with a serious look on her face. "As ready as I'm gonna be. Why are you calling me by my last name?"

"Because you're in your serious mode," he told her. "You're being anal about everything."

"I am not being anal, _House_," she told him, putting an emphasis on his last name like he had hers.

"It doesn't work unless you have a reason," he told her. "Otherwise it's just stupid."

"I called you by your last name because you are in your contemptible mode," she explained. "You're being and asshole about everything."

He nodded, accepting her comeback. It had been so long since he had had an opponent worthy enough to throw back at him what he threw at them, he had almost forgotten who he was talking with. He finished his bowl of cereal and grabbed his back pack.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked seeming a little more confident in herself.

"Nope," he said as he followed her out of the door.


	15. Chapter 14

"We're going to go to a bar a little further away from the school," he said looking over at her as he drove towards their watering hole for the night. "Wouldn't want anyone from the school to see the drunken side of you before you get accepted."

"I don't care," she said resting her head against the window, "just get me somewhere so I can get a drink."

They were heading out to a local club slash bar. When he had gotten home from work, she had complained and been a little depressed about her interview. She didn't think it had gone well, and was sure that she wasn't going to get in. He had tried to reassure her and tell her that she couldn't know for sure how the interview went until she had gotten a letter from the admission's committee. She said she wanted a drink so he had called a few of his friends and told them to meet him at J.J's. It was a hang out for med students, but not many residents or attendings or anyone who could have had a say so in the admissions committee's decision usually went there.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," he said giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "It's not that big of a deal, I'm sure you did fine."

"That's easy for you to say," she said sulkily. "You've already gotten in and graduated. You are through, you're a doctor now. I haven't even gotten into med school yet."

"Well how about we just don't talk about it," he suggested. "You asked me to take you out, I'm taking you out, and I plan on having a good time. If you're going to be a buzz kill let me know now and we can turn around and go home."

She didn't say anything, so he tried again. "As a late birthday present, I'll even pay for all of your drinks, but you can't talk about anything that's got to do with school, including the interview you had today. Forget about it starting now."

He looked at her and she smiled at him. "Open bar sounds nice."

They pulled up into the crowded parking lot. He parked and they went inside to find the dance floor was packed. They went over to the bar and he saw Paul, one of his friends had already arrived. He sat on the stool next to Paul and Lisa sat next to him.

"About time you got here," Paul said after taking a drink from his beer. "I'm already on my third beer."

"I'll catch up soon," he told him. He then turned to Lisa. "Paul this is Lisa. She's the reason why we're drinking tonight."

"Nice to meet you," Paul said with a smile as he extended his hand to her.

"Same here," she said shaking his hand. She felt his hand linger on hers a little before he allowed her to softly slip her hand away. She shot him another smile, knowing that he was going to be flirting with her for probably the rest of the night. That wasn't why she had come to the bar though. She had come to drink and forget about everything that had anything to do with school. Greg seemed to have that part taken care off since he had just ordered their first round of shots. When the bartender came back with them, he handed one to her. She swallowed it quickly as he was about to do his before Paul stopped him.

"Hey man you dating her?" he asked eyeing Lisa.

"Not anymore," he told him.

"So that mean she's fair game?"

Greg didn't like where this was going, but he had no claim to her anymore. "I guess so." Before he could toss back his shot, Lisa grabbed it out of his hand and did it for him. She placed the glass back down on the bar and smiled at them as they both looked at her impressed by her determination to get a buzz as quickly as possible.

"Order the next round," she told him as she climbed off of the stool. "I'll be right back."

They watched as she made her way through the crowd and towards the bathroom she had spotted when she first walked in.

"Man you have got to hook me up with her," Paul said.

"No I don't," Greg said. "She's real easy to talk to, hook yourself up."

Before the conversation could go any further, Stacy walked up to the bar along with David, Steven, and Donna. They all greeted each other and found a table where all of them could sit. Greg waited at the bar for Lisa so she wouldn't have to search for them in the crowded bar. When she came back, they made their way over to the table with everyone else, and he introduced her.

Stacy eyed Lisa trying to size her up. She had to admit that she was a pretty girl. But she still didn't really think she was a threat to her. She didn't like the way Greg kept touching her though. He either had his arm around her waist, his hand on the small of her back, or just their arms touching comfortably as they sat next to each other. She wasn't too shy about leaning on him either. But she didn't make too much of it, after all they were friends.

"You still owe me more drinks," Lisa said turning to Greg. "I'm not finished yet, I'll get a drink for every year."

"So you're five now," he said as the waitresses brought another round of beers. "Make beers count for three, so that would be eight." He didn't want to have to carry her out the bar.

"How old did you make, Lisa?" Stacy asked, trying to be nice to her since she was his friend.

"Twenty-two," she told her before taking another drink of beer. "I plan to stop counting soon, doesn't make since to continue after you make twenty-one. You have nothing left to look forward too."

"Great philosophy," Paul said, gesturing his beer towards her to show her that he agreed.

"Well happy belated birthday," David said as he raised his beer and hit it up against hers.

"Thanks," she said before taking another drink.

"I tell you what," Paul said. "You dance with me, and I've got the next round of shots. I'll give Greg's pockets a break."

"Sounds like a deal," she said before finishing her beer and standing up. Paul took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

"I think Paul really likes her," Donna said, noticing that her friend had been flirting with the new girl the whole night.

"Isn't she your ex?" Steven asked Greg.

Greg just nodded after taking a drink from his bottle.

"Well I don't think that's a good idea," Steven started. "Paul should back off. It's not good for friends to date other friends' exes. Trust me I know."

"Why not? Greg isn't dating her anymore," Stacy said proudly, letting it be known. "If Paul likes her, I don't see why he can't date her." She just wanted Lisa with someone other than Greg. That would be less she had to worry about.

"I don't think it'll work with him here in Baltimore and her in Michigan," Greg told them, wanting the conversation about Lisa and Paul hooking up to stop. "She hasn't gotten into Hopkins yet."

"Well you said she's pretty smart," David said. "You think she'll get in?"

"I hope so," he told him.

Stacy didn't really like the sound of that. He wanted the girl to get into Hopkins so that meant that he wanted to be closer to her. She didn't think that Lisa was a threat now, but she wasn't stupid. She had seen the way that her and Greg acted towards each other, and she knew that if the girl was going to school there she would definitely be her competition.

A little while later Lisa and Paul made their way back to the table and as promised, Paul ordered another round of drinks. They sat and talked a little while longer, until most of them had a little buzz, all except for the people who were driving.

"Okay last round of shots on me," Greg said. He hadn't really drank much, since he had to drive home. He ordered the shots and the waitress brought them over. Everyone grabbed a glass and Greg handed one to Stacy.

"No," she declined. "I think I've had enough for the night."

"Aww com'on," Greg said laughing a little. "You don't even have to drive home, and you haven't had that much to drink."

"I know," she told him. "But I think I've had enough."

"I'll take it," Lisa said grabbing it from his hand and downing it. She had already drunk her own. She looked over at Greg and he was looking at her with an amused smirk of approval. She burst out into laughter after she realized that she must've seemed like an alcoholic to everyone else. They didn't seem to mind though; they seemed pretty impress that an undergrad could hold her liquor so well.

"You are going to destroy your liver," he said as they got up leave.

"I'm sure you'll beat me to it," she told him.  
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"So you dating Stacy," Lisa asked as Greg carried her piggyback style up the stairs of his apartment building.

"Why would you think I was dating Stacy?"

"Because..." she started. "...I don't know. You two seem kinda close. And if you're not dating, I can tell she likes you."

"Yeah," he agreed. "We're not dating though."

He unlocked the door and walked over to the couch. He was about to drop her on the sofa, but she protested.

"Mmhhm...Bed," she said feeling the affect of the alcohol.

"Okay," he said in a skeptical voice as he proceeded down the hall, "but if you throw up in my bed I'm putting you out."

"I'm not going to throw up in your bed," she said as he dropped her on the bed.

He watched as she started to pull her jeans off. It was funny watching her try to take off her pants in her drunken state. She finally got them off and threw them at him when she heard him laughing at her. She then crawled under the covers, and fell asleep. He joined her not soon after calling Stacy to see if she had made it home alright.

* * *

"Greg!" Stacy yelled while beating on the door to his apartment. She didn't want to scream or beat too loud as to disturb his neighbors.

She waited, but no one answered. She opened her purse and took out the spare key that he had given to her. She unlocked the door and found no one in the living room or the kitchen. She made her way down the hall and into the bedroom. She saw that he was still asleep. Her heart sunk when she saw the extra body lying curled up next to him. She realized that Lisa had not been where she would have expected her to be, on the living room sofa. She walked over to the bed and began to shake him lightly, all the time glaring at a still sleeping Lisa. She could now see that Lisa had her arm wrapped around him and her head rested mostly on his back.

"Greg," she whispered, as he stirred from his sleep.

He looked up at her and still too tired to speak, waited for her to continue. "I thought you said we were going to go out for lunch today?"

He groaned and shifted a little to look over at the clock. "What time is it?" he asked, his vision still a little too hazy to read the numbers on the clock.

"After twelve," she said.

He groaned again and turned on his back causing Lisa to stir a little, but she didn't wake up. Stacy just watched as the girl now laid her head on Greg's shoulder and he seemed to pull her closer. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. He opened his eyes again and looked at her.

"We can still go, just give me a little time to get ready," he said.

She rolled her eyes at Lisa before leaving out of the room. She decided to go into the living room and watch television while she waited for him. Thirty minutes later he came into the living room, followed by Lisa.

"Hey," Lisa greeted her cheerily.

"Hey," Stacy repeated not as cheerily.

"So where are we going?" Lisa asked as Greg got his wallet and car keys.

"Capital Grill."

"Wait, she's coming?" Stacy asked in a not too pleasant tone.

Lisa's smile fell and she looked from Stacy to Greg, who was looking at Stacy himself.

"Well yeah Stace, " he told her. "She's visiting for the weekend, I'm not going to leave her here by herself."

"No it's fine," Lisa offered. "I can stay here. You have groceries, I can make something. I don't want to intrude."

"I'm not going to leave you here, you asked to stay so we can hang out and you leave tomorrow," he told her. "There's no reason we can't all go together."

"Yeah," Stacy said trying to save face. "I didn't mean it like that, I just didn't know you were coming that's all," she finished with a smile.

Lisa knew that the smile was fake and returned the same fake one to her. She had initially liked Stacy, but she was really starting to get on her bad side.

"Let's go then," she said.  
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The three of them sat at the table waiting on the food to arrive. They had been having a casual conversation and thankfully, for Greg's sake, the girls had managed to stay cordial towards one another, even if it was obviously forced.

"So Lisa," Stacy started. "What time are you leaving tomorrow?" She didn't really try to hide the dryness in her tone, letting the girl know she wanted her gone asap.

"Well my flight leaves at four," she said, "but hopefully I'll be back this summer …to start school."

"Yeah hopefully," she said, before turning to Greg. She had caught the underlying meaning of the statement and decided to make one of her own. "Tomorrow after Lisa leaves, I'll come over."

She then turned back to Lisa and the two women stared each other down, with evil smiles that hid their growing disdain for one another.

"Need anything else?" the waiter asked as he came up to the table.

"Yes," Greg said eagerly. "Give me the strongest drink you've got back there."

"Okay, coming up," he said with a chuckle. The waiter had been to the table enough times to pick up on the tension between the two women. He couldn't tell if he envied the guy with them or if he just felt sorry for him for getting himself into the situation.

Lisa had decided that she would play along with Stacy's little game. She still had feelings for Greg, she wasn't denying that, but she wasn't trying to get back into a relationship with him. She didn't even know where she was going to be living in the next few months; still in Michigan, closer to him in Baltimore, or further away from him. But she seriously was not going to back down, especially when she knew she had the upper hand in the situation, and could still snatch the prize without even really trying. She was still young, she reasoned. She could play these games, she even liked playing them. It was a challenge to see if she could steal a guy's attention from another girl, especially when the girl challenged her. It was just an extra bonus when she actually had feelings for the guy, and it made the game a little more interesting.

They had managed to finish lunch without anyone having to go to the hospital. Lisa had wanted to go somewhere else, but Greg refused to go because he knew Stacy would want to come. So they decided to go back home instead, where he felt he had a little more control over the situation. Stacy stayed over until about eight before she left to go and get ready for the party at Steven's.

"You coming to the party?" Greg asked. He had just gotten out of the shower and was getting ready.

"I don't know," she said. "Are you leaving now?"

"Probably not," he told her.

"Well I'll decide while I'm in the shower," she said before heading off to the bathroom.

She wasn't sure she wanted to go to the party. She turned on the shower and stepped under the hot water. She would be leaving the next day and hadn't really gotten to spend much time alone with Greg. She wanted to spend the night, just the two of them, and not have to share him with anyone, especially Stacy. She was also starting to feel a little sexually frustrated, being around him again and knowing that he was mildly off limits, only because they weren't dating anymore.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped her towel around her before walking back into the bedroom to get her pajamas. A sweatshirt hanging out of Greg's drawer caught her attention and she pulled it out and read the word HOPKINS printed across the front. She decided to put that on instead. A smile came to her face as she walked back into the living room to find him sitting on the huge arm chair next to the sofa.

He watched as she walked back over to him with the oversized sweat shirt hanging off of one of her shoulders. He quickly noted that she didn't have on any pajama bottoms, and the shirt only went a little ways past her hips. It still covered her well enough, but he had to send a message to little Greg for him to not get too excited. "What are you smiling for?"

"Oh nothing," she said as she grabbed the blanket off of the sofa and went to sit next to him on the chair. He scooted over a little to give her room, and she sat on a slant resting her legs across his and threw the blanket over her and in turn over him. He knew she was up to something, he just didn't know what so he didn't worry too much about it.

"I take it you're not going to the party?"

"Nope," she said with a smile.

"Well I guess I better…," he said starting to get up, but she cut him off.

"No, I don't want you to go," she told him. "Stay here with me."

"Lise I told Steve that I was gonna come to the party," he said.

"Well call him and tell him you're not coming," she said. "I'm only in town until tomorrow and we haven't had a chance to really catch up on everything." He watched as she leaned up in the chair, and positioned her self so she was straddling him. She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "Stay with me."

"Lise I…," he had opened his mouth to protest, but his hands had come into contact with her hips, after he had started to caress her as soon as she straddled him. He looked up at her with a mixture of lust, surprise, and desire in his eyes when he didn't feel the waist band of her panties. He moved his hands to her ass and felt nothing but bare skin. She smiled at him, knowing she was going to get her way. He smirked back before she leaned forward again and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back as his hands continued to caress and squeeze her ass. Her hands went down to his belt buckle and she began undoing his jeans.

She had gotten his jeans unbuttoned when he began pulling at the sweat shirt she had on. He quickly slipped it over her head and his hands went to her back as his mouth immediately went to her breast. She let out a moan, and he smiled to himself realizing that it had been too long since he had heard that sound from her. Her hands went to the back of his neck as he continued to suck on her breast. He put his hand on her bottom and pushed her upward so he could free his erection from it prison. She felt it brush against her bottom and stopped him.

"Wait," she said pulling her mouth away from his.

"For what?" he asked a little annoyed, wanting to continue as soon as possible.

She didn't answer, but quickly spotted his wallet on the end table next to the chair. She reached for it and opened it. He felt a little relief knowing that they would indeed continue when she pulled out a condom. She dangled it in front him before she opened it and slid back a little. He tightened his grip on her when he felt her heat brush over the head of his shaft. He thrust his hips a little trying to slide into her, but she moved before he could.

"Anxious?" she said smiling at him.

"Tease."

She rolled her eyes playfully before slowly rolling the condom onto his erection, making sure he felt every movement her fingers made as they slid down his shaft. When she was finished he grabbed her hips and pulled her forward again so the head of his erection was at her entrances. He pressed his lips to hers and she moaned into his mouth as he slid her down onto his shaft. He slid down further in the chair so that he was almost lying down and she grabbed onto his shoulders as she raised her hips then dropped them back down onto his, letting out a small cry as she did so. He grabbed her hips as she repeated the motion and picked up a rhythm. His hands went to caressing her ass, sinking his fingers into her skin as he forced her down harder onto his cock, causing her moans to become louder. She picked up her pace and he let out a groan as he watched as her breast bounced with her movements. She was as tight as he had remembered, so whomever she had gained the nickname partypants with had nothing on him in that department.

He felt her grip tighten on his shoulders as she leaned closer into him. He began kissing her neck, as he continued using his grip on her to slam her down harder onto him.

"Oh my god," she gasped as he started to suck on her neck. "I'm think I'm gonna…," she stuttered as her breathing became more labored.

He kissed her lips softly. "Are gonna cum, Lise?" he asked as he continued to place small kisses on her mouth and jaw. "You gonna cum for me?" He started to thrust his hips into hers as he felt himself getting closer also.

"Cum for me Lisa," he said. Those words sent her over the edge and she screamed his name as her muscle started to convulse uncontrollably around him.

He loved the way she always screamed his name as she came, because it helped him to reach his release. He slammed her down onto him once more, holding her there firmly as he grunted a four letter word and released a hot scream into the thin plastic barrier between them. She bucked her hips softly against him a few more times, milking him of every drop. She collapsed on top of him, too tired and weak to move. Not having the strength to move at the time himself, he just kissed her shoulder and continued to caress her ass.

"Now I really hope you get into Hopkins," he said, making them both burst into laughter.

* * *

**A/N: Okay this chapter and the last two have been transitional chapters. Things should start to get more settled again at the end of the next chapter.**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lisa threw the covers from over her head and squinted her eyes at the lights coming through the window. She looked around for the ringing sound that had just woke her and found the culprit sitting on the nightstand. She reached over and grabbed it.

"Hello?" she groaned into the receiver.

"Is Greg there?" the female voice asked from the other end of the phone.

This made Lisa realize that she was alone in bed. Her senses were slowly awakening and she realized that the shower was running in the bathroom.

"He's in the shower," she said. "May I ask who's calling. I can have him ca…," she tried, but the person cut her off.

"It's Stacy," the woman said. "I was just calling to see why he didn't come to the party. I called a bunch of times last night, but no one answered."

A smile suddenly came to Lisa's face when she remembered why they had skipped out on the party. It grew even wider when she realized that she was about to get the chance to tell Stacy.

"Uhmm, something came up," she said. "We got a little busy, and decided to stay in."

The phone line grew silent. She could only imagine what was going through Stacy's mind. She knew she was pissed, because if the roles would have been reversed, she knew she would have been.

"Tell him I called," Stacy said coldly, before hanging up the phone.

Lisa hung up the phone and crawled back under the covers. She didn't want to, but she would be leaving in a few hours. She had enjoyed the time they spent together, and it seemed as if it would be harder to separate from him this time than it was the first time. Their weekend together just made her realize how much she missed him. This made her think back to her interview, and wish a little harder that she would get in. She had thought that it had not gone well right after, but now she wasn't really sure. There were parts that she thought had gone well, and other parts that she thought were going to ruin her chances. She couldn't do anything now, but sit and wait, the worst position to be stuck in. She snapped from her thoughts and a smile came to her face as she felt his warm body curl up next to her. He placed a kiss on her shoulder, and she closed her eyes leaning into his touch.

"You better get up or you're going to miss your flight," he told her. "It's already twelve thirty."

"I don't wanna go," she said.

"Well you can always stay here with me, and forget about the past four years of all your hard work," he said. "Who cares if you're only one semester away from graduating, everyone knows you only need three and a half years anyway. And I'm sure your dad will be happy that you're not going to medical school after all."

She opened her eyes and rolled on her back to look up at him. "I wouldn't give him the satisfaction."

He smiled at her. "You still haven't talked him into paying for your med school?"

"Not voluntarily," she said with a smile. He looked at her waiting for her to continue. "I got Scott to talk him into fixing the account so I could withdraw money from it whenever I wanted. He told him that he was going to ask me to marry him and he thought I would say yes and we would need the money for the wedding," she said laughing. "I managed to take like two-thirds of the money out and put it into my own account before he realized that a wedding wasn't going to happen."

"You conned your dad," he said with a smile. "I'm so proud of you."

"You would be proud of something like that."

"He deserved it," he told her. "Now go get ready so we can get something to eat before I take you to the airport."

She threw the covers off of her and got out of bed. "Oh yeah, Stacy called," she said with a smile before heading towards the bathroom.

He decided it would be better if he called her back after Lisa had left. That way she could come over and possibly not be so mad at him. He had gotten the message she left last night about not coming to the party and she didn't sound too happy about it. He just hoped Lisa hadn't said anything to worsen the situation, though from the smile, he knew she had.  
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"You can stay you know," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her, not wanting her to go.

"I wish I could, I like it out here," she said. "Although I don't think Stacy and I would make it."

"Well you'll have to work something out when you come back for school this summer."

"Yeah, _if_ I come back for school this summer."

"You honestly don't think you got in?" he asked her.

"I can't say that I did for sure," she said.

"And you can't say that you didn't," he reminded her.

"Okay you're right," she said smiling at him. "I'll be back this summer."

A message came over the intercom that they were now boarding her flight.

"Guess I better get going," she said quietly.

"Guess so," he said.

She put her hand on his face and stood on her toes, then placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Bye."

"Bye," he whispered as she slipped out of his arms. He watched as she gave her ticket to the woman outside the gate. The woman checked her ticket and she turned and waved to him before she disappeared into the terminal. He too, knew that there was really nothing they could do except for wait for the admissions committee to make a decision.

* * *

…3 months later…

"Hey Lise we're abou….," Kelly stopped when she saw her roommate rush past her without paying her any attention…, "okay, talk to you later then," she yelled behind her.

Lisa didn't want to ignore her, but she had just come from getting the mail and she was close to hyperventilating. She hadn't opened the envelope with the Hopkins logo on it, because she didn't want to do it in public, just in case it called for crawling up in the bed and being depressed for a few days. She wanted to wait until she got home, and she rushed to her room the moment she got there. She held the letter in her hand, still trying to find the courage to open the it. 'Just open it,' she told herself. Not wanting to give herself time to change her mind, she tore into the envelope. She quickly unfolded the paper and started to read.

'Congratulations, you have been accepted…,' she didn't need to read any further, she had what she wanted. She began screaming and Kelly and Sarah, their new roommate since Becca graduated, burst into the room.

"What?! What's wrong?!" Sarah yelled.

"I got into Hopkins," she said holding up the letter. They too immediately started screaming, having watched her go through the long agonizing process of applying to schools then waiting to hear from them.

"I'm so happy, now we don't have to put up with you being depressed every other day about schools," Sarah told her.

"I stopped doing that almost a month ago when I got my acceptance letter from Michigan," she defended.

"Yeah, but we all knew you really wanted to go to Hopkins," Kelly told her. "It's okay, we know you wanted to be closer to Greg."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the smile that came to her face. "That's not why I wanted to go to Hopkins."

"Then go to Michigan," Sarah dared her.

"Okay that's not the only reason I wanted to go to Hopkins," she admitted.

"I knew it," Kelly said, standing up from the bed she had been sitting on. "I'm going to go get ready."

"For what?" Sarah asked her.

"Well we have to go out to celebrate," she said.

Sarah agreed and also left to go get ready. Lisa put off getting ready to make one important phone call. She only hoped he would answer. After she had left Baltimore, her and Greg had made more of an effort to keep in touch, but still missed each other a lot. It was a little after six, so she figured he might be home if it was an early night for him at the hospital.

The phone rung a few times before he picked up.

"Hello?" his voice came over the phone.

"Guess what?" she said excitedly.

"Your not wearing any panties?" he said catching on to her voice.

"Shut up," she told him, but decided to play along anyways. "Well I'm not, but I wouldn't call you just to tell you that. I got into Hopkins!"

"I told you you would," he said excitedly. "And as you know I'm always right."

"Yeah okay," she said sarcastically. "I think it was the fact that I didn't mention to anyone that I knew you that I got in."

"That hurts," he told her jokingly.

"Well I'll make it up to you this summer when I move to Baltimore," she said. "Can I stay with you until I find somewhere to live."

"Why don't you just live with me?" he asked her. "I'm looking at condos right now, and I'm thinking about getting a two bedroom for more space. I can use a roommate."

"I don't think I can afford to pay half on a condo," she told him. "I mean I have my dad's money, but tuition is really high."

"I'll pay the rent," he said. "You can pay half on the utilities and buy the food, or whatever you can. It'll be cheaper for you."

"You sure?" she asked skeptically. "I don't want to invade your personal space."

"That's funny, because I definitely wanna invade yours."

"That's all you think about," she told him as a smile came to her face.

"You're the one to talk," he said. "Steven's still mad at me for not coming to his party."

She started laughing.

"So you're sure you're coming here?" he asked her.

"I agreed to be your roommate, didn't I?"

"Just making sure," he said. "I know you got accepted into Michigan."

"Yeah, but I'm going to Hopkins."

They talked a few more minutes, before they said goodbye. He was ecstatic that she was going to be moving to Baltimore in a few months. He had really missed her after she had left, but it helped a little to know that they would be living together come the summer time.

"Who was that?" Stacy asked.

"Lisa," he told her. "She got into Hopkins."

"Is she going to attend or is she going to go somewhere else?"

"Uhmm," he said, "she's going to come here I think. We're going to be roommates." He finished the statement, but didn't look at her knowing she was giving him the death glare. He had never promised Stacy anything. He had in fact told her that he wasn't ready for a relationship. Given a little more time, he probably would have gotten into a relationship with her, but he wasn't too sure about that now that Lisa was moving to Baltimore.

Stacy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been building a relationship with him for the last few months and he had kept telling her that he wasn't ready for anything serious. His ex makes one phone call and he offers her a place to stay. The bad part about it was that she was sure he was about to ask her to move in with him when he got the condo. And she knew from the way that he didn't look at her when he told her about Lisa coming to live with him that the relationship they had been trying to build would be over or put on hold, at least. She couldn't stay and watch him develop a relationship with another woman, knowing she still had such strong feelings for him. She loved him, but she wouldn't put herself through the torture. She suddenly started thinking more seriously about the job offer in New York she had gotten the week before.

* * *

A/N: Okay this is the last transitional chapters!


	17. Chapter 16

He made his way through the sea of navy blue and gold cap and gowns, flowers, balloons, and what ever else someone had found a way to turn those colors. He was hoping he would see her before she saw him. He wanted to see the look on her face when she saw him. He had told her that he didn't know if he would be able to make it to her graduation, but after switching weekends with Steven at the hospital so he could fly down and help her drive back to Baltimore. She didn't want to go home and be harassed by her parents, so he had offered to let her come down as soon as she graduated. He found her standing and talking to an older couple, which he figured were her parents, and a younger couple, which he figured to be her sister and probably her boyfriend. She had already gotten rid of the cap and gown and she had on a tight knee length black dress on under it that showed off her curves, and a pair of black heels. Her mother didn't seem to like how tight the dress was as she pulled at the material and she batted her hand away and said something to her. Her father didn't look too happy to be there. He stood at a distance and waited for her to turn and notice him. When she did a smile came to her face and she went over and jumped in his arms.

"Liar," she said hitting him in the shoulder as he lowered her back to the ground. "I thought you said you wouldn't be able to make it."

"I said I might not be able to make it," he corrected. "I switched weekend shifts with Steven. I didn't wanna let you drive down by yourself."

"I'm a big girl," she said. "I'm sure I could've managed. But I'm glad you're here."

He smiled at her then noticed the people coming up behind her. "Should I run now?"

"No," she said, "but please don't say anything too offensive."

"Me?" he said holding his hand up to his chest, as if he was offended. "Say something offensive?"

"Greg please?" she said with pleading eyes before she turned around to face her family who was fast approaching. She wished she had had more time to prepare for this meeting because she really wanted her parents to like him. She had already told them that she would be staying with him, which they had mixed emotions about. They thought it would be fine, if he would marry her and she didn't go to medical school. Her father was still against the idea, and her mother and sister had to make him come to her graduation. Surprisingly to her, he had behaved himself so far.

Her parents stopped in front of her.

"Who is this?" her father asked. Greg felt a little under the microscope as they all stared at him. He hadn't met a girl's parents since he had graduated high school. And the only reason why he did then was because he had no other choice. All the girls lived with their parents.

"Daddy, this is Greg House, the guy I told you about," she said. "Greg this is my father, William Cuddy."

"You can call me Bill," her father said sticking out his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Greg said, shaking the man's hand.

"This is my mother, Anne, my sister Jennifer, and her fiancé Ben," Lisa finished introducing everyone else.

"So are you going to join us for dinner?" Bill asked him. "We're going to a local restaurant and I would love to get to know more about the young man my daughter's going to be living with."

He looked down at Lisa who was willing him to say yes with her eyes.  
"Uhh, yeah, sure," he said agreeing to go with them.

"Good," Bill started again. "Well then, we can talk more at the restaurant. Better get going before it gets too crowded. See you at the restaurant."

The four of them started walking away as Lisa and Greg stood in place

"Com'on my car's this way," she said grabbing his hand. "Thanks for agreeing to come out to dinner with my parents. I know it must be weird for you."

"I flew out here. You're my ride, I had no other choice," he told her, motioning to the duffle bag on his shoulder.

She smiled at him, knowing he would have come anyways because she wanted him to. So far everything seemed to be going fine. She and Greg had planned to leave early the next morning, so all they had to do was make it through dinner and everything would be great.  
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"Did you say you work at Johns Hopkins hospital?" Anne asked him.

Greg nodded his head. He found it funny that Lisa's parents had been grilling him since they arrived at the restaurant. They had ordered their food and they were now having a casual conversation. They seemed pretty normal, but he wondered how such a strong willed woman could come from such a family.

"That's a really good school," Ben chimed in. "You must really be a good doctor."

He just smiled, not usually one to toot his own horn.

"My brother was gonna go there for undergrad, but he ended up going to Harvard," the boy continued.

Jennifer tapped Lisa on the arm and she leaned into her as the girl began to whisper so only they could hear.

"Is this the guy you dumped Scott for?" she asked.

"I didn't dump Scott, we were never together," she corrected.

"Well are you two together?" she asked.

"Not anymore?"

"Why not? He seems nice and dad likes him."

"Because," she started, but realized she didn't really have a valid reason as to why they weren't together anymore. It was obvious when they were in different states, but since that wasn't the case anymore, she didn't really have an answer. "We just aren't."

"Well you should. I think he's hotter than Scott."

"Your fiance's sitting right there next to you," Lisa reminded her.

"I mean for you, not for me," Jenn told her. "Plus the way dad was pissed when he found out that you turned down Scott's proposal and you took all of the money out of the account. He likes Greg, you like him, so why not get with him so Dad can stop being mad with you."

"Lisa, Jennifer," Anne said noticing their side conversation, "it's not polite to whisper."

"Sorry," they said in unison.

"So Greg," Bill started as the waitress started setting their food on the table, "my daughters going to be living with you. Maybe you can talk some sense into her."

Lisa's stomach sunk. They had been in the restaurant for a while and everything seemed to have been going well. Greg was even behaving himself, after she had pleaded with him the whole ride over. Her father had to mess it up some how.

"What do you mean?" Greg asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Well, she's trying to become a doctor," the man started. "I've tried to tell her that that is no occupation for a woman. I mean you're a doctor you should know. "

"There are more male doctors than female doctors," Greg agreed, trying not to ruin the dinner for Lisa. He didn't comment anymore because he didn't agree with what the man was implying.

"It'll take too much time away from what she really needs to be doing," the man continued.

"Daddy…," Lisa pleaded with him. She wanted him to stop talking, change the subject or something. But to no avail, the man kept talking.

"No Lisa, you need to hear this. I mean look at Jennifer. She just turned twenty and she's already engaged to get married. You are two and a half years older than her. You would think the oldest sister would be the first to get married, but at the rate you're going you're never going to get married," he told her.

Greg watched as Lisa lowered her head. She looked as if she was about to cry, but she held it together. He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He knew that getting married and starting a family were two of her goals, but she just had to focus more on med school right now. He knew her father's words really hurt her, seeing as how they had talked numerous times about how they pictured their life and a husband and kids were always a part of her description. And though he wasn't sure if he could help her with the kid part, he could see himself married to her one day if their relationship kept going in the direction it was going right then. Her mother looked as if she was about to say something in her defense, but decided against it at the last minute.

The man turned his attention back to Greg and kept talking. "If you two are going to be living together , I'm thinking that means you're serious about each other. You're already a doctor, you can support her. She doesn't need to go to med school. It is a demanding profession, you'll need to know that home is taken care of and she needs to be able to do that."

"Daddy please…," she pleaded again. She didn't know what to be more embarrassed about; her dad trying to 'put her in her place' in front of everyone or him trying to force something between her and Greg that she wasn't really sure was there yet. Sure she knew they had deep feelings for each other, but their relationship had never escalated to nothing more than the boyfriend/girlfriend status.

"And when you have kids," the man continued, "who's going to raise them?"

Greg smirked at finally getting to meet the asshole Lisa had described to him. The man had been almost pleasant the whole night, and he was starting to think she was over exaggerating.

"I don't think her being a doctor would really be a problem," Greg said as politely as he could. "You're daughter's smart. I'm sure she can manage being a doctor and take care of her personal life at the same time."

"So you don't have a problem with her being a doctor?" Bill asked a little surprised.

"No I don't."

"Well that's a first. Most men I know would find that unacceptable," he said. "May I ask why you don't have a problem with it?"

"Uhmm," Greg said as if he was thinking, "because I a have a fully functioning penis. And it's going to be there rather she's at home in the kitchen or standing next to me in the emergency room."

Ben and Jennifer laughed a little, and her mother almost choked on her drink.

"Greg!," Lisa said, sounding a little upset. She knew her dad deserved it, but she was hoping Greg would be the one to keep his composure and not engage her father.

"Are you trying to say that I'm intimidated by women?" her father asked sounding highly offended.

He just shrugged his shoulders not wanting to say anything more to upset Lisa, who was still staring at him in disbelief. He didn't understand why she was so surprised, she knew her father was being an asshole when he said what he said and she knew he couldn't hold his tongue too well in certain situations.

"Bill calm down," her mother tried, as she place a hand on his shoulder.

"No," Bill told her. "How dare he talk to me like that."

"Look, you're being ridiculous. What you're saying doesn't make any sense. You should be happy that your daughter can take care of herself and she doesn't have to depend on anyone else."

"You're reinforcing this crazy idea of her becoming a doctor," Bill accused.

"I support her yes, but she was going to be a doctor either way, because she wanted to."

Bill just glared at Greg, but he didn't shy away. He returned the man's stare, letting him know that he couldn't intimidate him like he did everyone else around the table.

"Lisa I don't want you seeing him anymore," her dad told him. "He's a bad influence."

"Oh you have no idea," Greg said with a smug look on his face. He already had the man all riled up, why not go all the way.

Lisa and her mother's mouth fell open at the implication, and her dad turned a new shade of red.

"Alright Lise," Jennifer cheered on her sister, as a smile came to Ben's face.

"You stay the hell away from my daughter," Bill yelled at him.

"Daddy calm down," Lisa said looking around the restaurant as the people started to stare. "People are staring."

"Lisa we're leaving," her dad said standing up. "Let's go get your things, you're coming home with us."

"I'm not going with you," she said. "I start school in a few months, I'm going to..."

"You are not going to Baltimore with this asshole," her dad yelled at her.

"Yeah, because I'm clearly the asshole in the situation," he said sarcastically.

"Lets go," he said staring at her.

"Mom do something," she said turning to her mother. She knew there was no way she was going with her parents, but she just wanted her mother to calm him down, so she could talk to him.

"Bill let's just go back to the hotel," her mother encouraged. "We can talk about this tomorrow when you've calmed down."

"No, we're leaving right now," he said before turning to Lisa. "And you're coming with us."

"No. I'm not," she said firmly as she stared him in the eyes.

He stared at her a few more moments trying to break her, but she didn't turn away. "Fine," he said throwing some money on the table to cover the bill. "Come on let's go."

"Sorry Lisa," Jennifer said as Ben touched her arm, letting her know that they would rather stay and celebrate with her. Her mother just gave her a regretful look, as they all followed her father out of the restaurant. Lisa just looked at them. She didn't want them to leave, but she knew that there was nothing she could do. Her father had made up his mind and the only thing she could do to make him happy was to go back home with them.

"Well I don't think he's too mad" Greg said trying to lighten the mood. "He left enough money for our food and for the waitress to get a healthy tip."

She rolled her eyes at him before grabbing her bag and heading out the door herself. He got up and followed her quickly. He managed to get in the car before she left without him.

"Look don't feel bad, you didn't do…," he tried after they had pulled onto the highway, but she cut him off.

"You just couldn't keep your mouth closed, could you?" she said shooting him a mean glare.

"Me?" he said surprised by her reaction. "Your father's the one who was being an ass about the whole thing."

"You didn't have to stoop to his level."

"Well you know I'm not good at not stooping to other people's level," he told her. "It's what I do best."

"Greg I am not in the mood."

"Why are you mad at me?" he asked her. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"You provoked him, all you had to do was nod and agree with him," she told him.

"Sorry, but I'm not like the rest of your family. I can't be your father's yes man."

"Whatever, I don't want to talk about it anymore," she told him.

"Fine." He said getting upset himself.

She felt a little bad at taking her anger out on him. It wasn't his fault that the graduation dinner with her family was ruined. He had only tried to stand up for her. But she wished he would have just kept his mouth closed. She could have handled her father; she just wanted them to approve of him. That way they could at least approve of her moving to Baltimore. She was hurt, upset, and angry and he was the only one there so she took it out on him. He knew that, so he let her. It still made him a little upset, getting the blame for something that wasn't his fault.

When they pulled up to her apartment she went straight to her bedroom and locked the door behind her. So he settled in on the couch and made himself comfortable for the night.  
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"How is it possible that you can be in a confined place with a person for five hours and not say one word to them?"

She didn't answer him, and just kept looking straight ahead as the wind from the top being down, blew her hair. They had been driving for a while, and she hadn't said anything to him since she shot him a cold 'Lets go,' when they were leaving the apartment. He had gotten over the night before, but clearly she hadn't.

"You know instead of being mad with me, you should call your father and give him a piece of your mind," he continued.

"Leave my father out of this," she told him.

"Well that'll be hard, considering that he's the reason for all of this."

"I said let it go," demanded.

"How can I let it go when you're sitting over there pissed at the world."

"Well if you would just shut up, maybe I wouldn't be pissed," she told him. "You're getting on my nerves."

He took a deep breath and blew it out, as he focused his attention on the road. "This is going to be an interesting living arrangement."  
She looked at him and her mouth fell open as tears began to come to her eyes.

"Aww com'on, how is that fair?" he said. "You can tell me anything you want, but as soon as I say something that isn't even as mean, I'm the bad guy."

She turned her head away and all the emotions she had been holding in from the night before, the guilt for being mean to him, and the weight of what he had just said came rushing forward. He knew she was crying and he started to feel bad about retaliating against her. He hated to see any woman cry, especially her. He had witnessed his mother crying many times because of something his father had said or done.

"Don't cry," he pleaded with her. "I just…I'm sorry. " He reached over and grabbed her hand pulling her a little closer to him.

"It's not you," she told him. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's my dad, he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," he reassured her. "He just hates the fact that he can't control you…you know now that I think about it, you two aren't really that different. You're both control freaks."

She laughed a little at the realization. She had never thought that maybe the reason that her and her dad didn't get along was because they were more alike than they were different. "Yeah, but I'll never treat my kids like that," she told him. "I'm not going to try to control their lives like he tries to do with me." She laid her head on his shoulder as the tears came to a stop. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take my frustration out on you."

"I know," he said kissing the top of her head. "I'm just glad I have someone to talk to now. Being in a car all day with no one to talk to can be really lonely, especially when you actually have someone sitting next to you."  
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There was still about an hour left of daylight when they pulled up outside of a huge building that almost looked like a warehouse. It seemed to be in a nice neighborhood, but it still wasn't too far away from the hospital and school. She followed him inside of the building and onto the elevator. They got off on the third floor.

"I hope this place is livable," she said as she followed him down the hall. "Probably shouldn't have trusted you to pick a place to stay."

"I'm offended," he told her. "I think I happen to pick pretty nice places to live. He unlocked the door. "Ladies first."

She walked pass him and down a short hallway that lead to a very spacious living room. There was a large enough kitchen off to the left and a stair case that led to an upper level office space that over looked the living room.

"Nice," she said looking back at him. Even the furniture was tasteful. "I'm impressed. Did Donna or Stacy help you decorate?"

"Donna. Stacy moved to New York," he said walking up behind her. "The bedrooms are upstairs, but there isn't a bed in your room yet. So I guess you'll have to sleep with me until you get one," he wrapped his arms around her. "You don't have to rush."


	18. Chapter 17

It had been a month since Lisa had moved to Baltimore and so far everything seemed to be going along fine. She had began finding things to do with herself during the day when Greg was at work, and had even brought a little more furniture to fill in the condo. He had had nice furniture, but he hadn't had enough to make the place feel like home. She wanted it to feel like home, since she would be living there for a while. One room that still wasn't furnished was the second bedroom. She didn't see any reason to spend money buying a bed, when there was a perfectly good bed just down the hall that Greg was willing to share with her. She had become increasingly familiar with the city, not having anything much to do while she waited for school to start. She had a month left until she started school, but she liked living there. It was really starting to feel like home.

Her dad still wasn't talking to her, but her mother reassured her that he would come around soon. Her and Greg's relationship was going well, but they still hadn't quite re-established their committed relationship. She had met more of his friends, and they were headed out to a restaurant to meet some of them for dinner. When they walked into the restaurant, she was a little disheartened to see Paul there. He would always flirt with her, and she would do her best to turn him down nicely. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered her, but she saw how it always upset Greg a little. She knew everyone around the table except for one of the couples, but Greg quickly introduced her.

"Lisa this is Charlie and Monica, this is my friend Lisa," he introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," she said shaking both of their hands.

That was one thing that bothered Lisa. Whenever he introduced her to his friends for the first time, he would always announce her as his friend. It upset her a little because she would classify them as more, seeing as they were having sex. She didn't know if he thought it was just casual to her, but he should have known that it was never just casual sex with him. She was in love with him, and she knew that he knew it. Still he had never felt the need to voice his feelings about her. She knew that he cared for her, she had no doubt about that, but he had never told her that he loved her. It didn't bother her much when they were dating, because she was a little younger, and he never was one to voice his feelings freely. But that was becoming increasingly unacceptable to her. She wanted and needed to hear him say how he felt about her. She needed for him to once again confirm a committed relationship between them. They were going to be living together for the next four years, at the least, and she wasn't going to be in an open relationship with him the whole time. She wasn't going to be his play thing that he always came home to after he finished playing in the streets. Not that he was playing in the streets, she didn't think he was at least. As far as she knew he wasn't dating anyone, but she didn't like the idea of him not having anything holding him back from the idea. If he met someone he could just as easily start dating her, and she wouldn't be able to say anything about because they weren't in an official relationship. She needed him to confirm that for her, or else she would have to go and get that bed for the unoccupied room at their condo.

"What's wrong?" Greg asked her after he noticed she hadn't really been saying anything since they had gotten there.

"Nothing," she said politely, not wanting to discuss it in front of everyone.

He knew something was wrong, but he wasn't going to push her to talk about it in front of everyone else. So he left it alone, for the time being.

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"You can't be mad at me," he said, as he closed the front door behind him and locked it. "I didn't do anything wrong. " Well he hoped he hadn't done anything wrong. He was good at reading people, but he realized what guys meant when they said women were the most confusing gender. At times he could read her like a book, and know just what she was thinking and just what she wanted, but at times like this, he didn't even think she knew what she wanted. She was obviously upset about something, since she hadn't said more than two words to him the whole ride home. He figured he had to have done something, although he didn't really have any idea.

"No you didn't do anything wrong," she told him. "Tonight was great. We had a great time with your _friends_."

"Oookaay," he said obviously more confused by her sarcasm and her emphasize of the word friends. And although most people would consider him a very observant genius, he was still a little young and oblivious to the things that set females off. He figured it had something to do with friends though. He also knew that women would rather be passive aggressive most of the time, than just saying what was wrong.

He followed her up the stairs and into the bedroom. He watched as she angrily grabbed some clothes from the drawer.

"Why are you following me?" she yelled at him, before she went into the bathroom. He was about to answer her, but she slammed the door in his face. He just looked at the door in disbelief. He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her to come out. When she did, she had on a loose pair of pink pajama pants and a white t-shirt that stopped right above where the pants started. She didn't even look at him and just went down stairs. He followed her not sure if he would get yelled at for doing so or not.

"Are you gonna tell me why you're mad at me, or are you going to stalk around here pretending nothing's wrong?"

"I'm not mad at you," she said as she put the glass she had been drinking from in the sink. "We're friends why would I be mad at you."

She went up the stairs, and he followed behind her.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked her, getting a little annoyed by the guessing game. He didn't really like them when he was the one trying to guess the answer. "I'm not psychic you know."

"Really?" she said turning around to face him. "Because you seem to think you know everything else."

He didn't know how to respond. A personal attack, he didn't know if that was related to the actual problem or if she was just lashing out at him. Before he could gather something to say she had already went into the bedroom and slammed the door in his face.

"Great, I'm living with an insane person," he yelled, getting angry now.

The door opened and he took a few steps back thinking he was going to get something thrown at his head. Instead, she just stepped out of the room empty handed.

"Yeah, because I'm the one with the mental problems and you're the one with the emotional problems," she accused.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked her.

"Why do you always introduce me as your friend?" she yelled at him giving him the piece to the puzzle that he needed to put the whole thing together. "Do you go around fucking all of your friends? Because I sure as hell don't. I thought it would be easier for you since we were actually in a committed relationship before, but it's not. You can't even tell people that we are more than just friends. I don't even know if you want to be more than just friends. You need to let me know, so that I can be clear on it. But you won't, because you can't just say what you feel. For god's sake I don't even know where this relationship is going. You never tell me how you feel about me or anything about us. You're just emotionally retarded," she yelled at him.

He had gotten the point there was no need for name calling he thought as the door closed in his face once again. He wanted to be mad at her, but he couldn't. For one he knew that she was crying, because he had seen the tears welling up in her eyes before she turned away. If he was mad with her and she was crying, that automatically made him the asshole in the situation because tears always gave a woman right in an argument. The other reason he couldn't be mad at her was because she had a valid point. He had invited her to live with him and had had no problems of partaking in the benefits that came with her sleeping next to him every night, but he still introduced her as his friend. He didn't know why, because he knew that they were more than that. He thought it was a given to both of them that they would pick up where they had left off in Michigan. But even then he would introduce her as his girlfriend. The only reason he could come up with was that his feelings ran deeper for her now than he was willing to admit. And by not admitting it to other people, he didn't have to admit it to himself. But she didn't deserve that. If she was going to be with him, she at least reserved the right to know where she stood with him in their relationship. She deserved to have him admit it to himself, to her, and to anyone else that they were in a relationship…that he was in love with her.

"Lisa open the door," he said in a pleading tone. She didn't answer him. "Please, I have something to say."

He heard her footsteps get closer to the door and the sound of the door being unlocked. She opened the door and stared at him, her face a little wet from the tears that had fallen. One more slipped from her eyes, and he took his thumb and gently brushed it away letting his hand linger on her face.

"I love you," he said, as he looked her in her eyes. Her expression softened a little, and a new batch of tears started to fall as she grabbed his t-shirt and pulled him down to her. She placed a soft kiss on his lips and pulled back.

"I love you too," she whispered before their lips met once again. The kiss grew deeper as and they somehow ended up on the floor, not being able to make it to the bed.

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She woke up the next morning wrapped in the down comforter. She figured Greg must have carried her to the bed, because she had remembered falling asleep on the floor in his arms. She noticed that he was not lying next to her, but there was a note on the night stand. She picked it up and began reading it.

'I had to go to the hospital for a few hours, but I'll be back around one. I have a delivery coming today, so if the delivery man gets here before I do, just let them in.

Greg'

She figured she had better get up and get some clothes on before the delivery people came, so she got up and went to take a shower. She stepped under the hot stream of water, and let the heat take the soreness away from her body. She didn't know if it was the fact that they had done it on the floor or that they had done it so many times that had her body hurting. A smile came to her face as she remembered the events of the night before. He had professed his love to her, multiple times and in more ways than one, and she had done the same. It was a new chapter in their relationship. He had opened up more to her and she couldn't help but feel thrilled about where their relationship would go from there. She got out of the shower and pulled on some loose sweats and one of his t-shirts, not really planning to leave the house anytime soon. She had just finished blow drying her hair and was pulling it back into a pony tail when the phone started to ring. She went out onto the balcony that overlooked the living room and picked up the phone from the desk.

"Hello?" she said falling back onto the futon that rested next to the wall opposite of the desk.

"Hello?" the voice sounded unsure. "Is Greg there?"

"No he's not," Lisa said with a smile. She could tell it was an older woman and she was doubting if she had called the right number. "If you would like I could take a message and have him call you when he gets in."

"That would be great." She still sounded a little confused. "Just tell him his mother called, and I would like for him to call me back."

She suddenly felt like she needed to prove something through the phone call. She had heard him talk about his parents before, well mostly his mom, and she got the feeling that although he didn't talk about her much or talk to her much that he was very fond of her. It was also common knowledge that every woman wanted the guy's she was dating mother to like her.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," the woman started again, "but what's your name sweetheart?"

Great. Now she was getting nervous. She knew with one question there would be a whole lot more to follow. "Lisa," she told her.

"Lisa…" the woman said as if in thought. The line was silent for a second or two. "How do you know my son?"

"We met when we were back in Michigan," she said. "I went to school there."

"Oh that Lisa," the woman said sounding as if things were starting to make sense now. "You have to forgive me sweetheart. Greg and I don't talk that much. My name is Blythe. I remember him talking about you though, since you're the only girl he ever felt the need to tell me about."

A smile came to Lisa's face at finding out that he had mentioned her to his mother and that the woman sounded nice, like she wasn't about to grill her about her relationship with her son.

"Are you visiting him?" the woman asked.

"No," Lisa said not sure how the woman was going to react to the news she was about to give her, "we live together. I'm going to be starting school at Hopkins next month."

The woman gasped, causing Lisa to panic a little. But the fear quickly subsided when the woman started to talk again. "That's great. You seem like a nice girl, well from our little conversation and what Greg has told me about you. My son seems to be really fond of you, maybe you'll be the one that can get him to open up. He needs to open up to someone. So are you and Greg just roommates or are you together again. He told me that you had broken up with him when he moved to Baltimore."

"Actually, we recently got back together," she told her with a smile, happy the woman already seemed to like her.

"I'm happy to hear that," Blythe told her. "From the way he talked about you, you seem to really be good for him. I hope you two can make it."

"Thank you."

"Well I don't mean to keep you darling, just let Greg know that I called could you?" Blythe asked.

"Actually," Lisa said as she heard the front door open, "I think he just walked through the door."

She smiled at Greg as she seen him walk into the living room. "Would you like me to put him on the phone."

"Yes please," Blythe replied. "He has perfect timing."

Greg looked up and saw Lisa smiling down at him from the balcony with the phone in her hand.

"Telephone," she said holding it up to him as she got up to walk down the stairs. She handed the phone to him and grabbed the box of pizza he had brought in with him. She went into the kitchen and saw that it was half cheese and half pepperoni. She grabbed one of the cheese slices and started to eaves drop on the conversation.

"Oh hey mom," he said sitting down on the sofa preparing for a long conversation. He knew his mother was long winded and from the looks of things when he had come in, she and Lisa had had a long enough conversation to give her plenty to talk about. He looked over at Lisa and she smiled at him, as she continued to listen in. "Yeah…I was going to tell you, we just haven't talked in a while…well I know that it's not your fault…yes I'm serious about her… she's only been here for a little over a month…yeah she is nice…she's very pretty, she has a hot bod too," he winked at Lisa knowing she was still listening. She just rolled her eyes as a little blush rose in her face. "I don't know when you're going to get to meet her…you can come here any time you want to, just don't bring your husband with you…no, I'm not coming back there…maybe if he's not there…well you come here…okay mom…okay…okay I will…bye mo…yeah… okay…bye mom."

He pressed the talk button and threw the phone on the sofa, as he got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Fair warning next time, please," he said as he placed a kiss on Lisa's cheek. He went into the cabinet and pulled out two glasses. He placed them on the kitchen bar were Lisa had sat the pizza box.

"You're mom's sweet," she said leaning on the bar as he opened the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade. He filled both of the glasses, before placing the pitcher back into the fridge. She grabbed one and began to drink from it.

"My mother's obsessive about my personal life, and she can talk a hole into somebody's head," he looked up at the clock and noticed it was a little after one. "Delivery people haven't stopped by yet?"

Before she could answer there was a knock at the door. "That must be them," he said as he went towards the door.

"What did you get?" she called after him.

"You'll see."


	19. Chapter 18

Lisa stood staring, still in awe, at the black baby grand piano that sat in the corner of their living room. After a couple of hours of the movers being careful not to damage anything, and Greg's obsessive insistence that they be even more careful, they had finally gotten the piano inside of the apartment. Not that it was really hard; they had a fairly large condo. She was sure that if it was any smaller and that if it wasn't built on the style of a warehouse loft, it would have taken twice as long. She had wondered why he had told her not to worry about getting anything to fill the huge space, but never thought this was the reason.

She always knew that he had a passion for music and that he could play the piano really well, having heard him played in the music building back at Michigan. He had told her that he couldn't wait to get a place of his own so he could get one of his own. She heard the front door close after Greg let the delivery men out, and a few moments later he was standing next to her gazing at the piano with a huge smile on his face.

"Wow," she finally said.

"I know right," he said as he sat on the bench placed in front of the piano. His face grew less enthused and more intrigued as he strategically placed his fingers on the keys and began to play a song he had obviously memorized.

"You really brought a piano," she said walking closer to it.

He scooted over a little and patted the space next to him on the bench. She took a seat next to him as he continued playing. She loved to hear him play rather it was his guitar or the piano. Not only was it beautiful and soothing, but it seemed to calm him. He always seemed to be on the defense, as not to reveal too much of himself to people, but when he played, it was like he was letting his guard down. Like music was the only way that he could fully express himself. She put her head on his shoulder and a smile came to her face as he continued to play the rest of the song.

"Any requests?" he asked after he had struck the last key, in the song he couldn't seem to wait to get out of his head.

"Uhhmm," she was about to request a song, but remembered what they had been talking about before the delivery men came. "Is your mom coming down to visit?"

"That's not a request," he said as he began to play another random piece that he had memorized.

"It's a question, and I wanna know the answer," she told him, but he didn't answer. "You know I can always call her back. She'll tell me. She really likes me."

"No," he said not wanting the two most cunning women in his world to have a chance to plot against him, "she's not coming. Not unless she can get rid of her husband anyways."

"Your dad?"

"No, I said her husband," he corrected.

"What's the deal with you and him?" she asked. She knew she was pushing on a touchy subject. She had been pushing it for almost the whole time she knew him and still hadn't gotten very far. It was one of the many parts of his life that she had to practically beat out of him.

"There is no deal," he told her. "We lived together for roughly eighteen years. We both survived."

"Is this another part of your life that you are going to refuse to let me into?" she asked him.

He looked over into her eyes as he finally stopped striking the keys. He saw the hurt in her eyes, and he felt awful. More importantly, for the first time in his life he felt bad for not opening up to someone about his personal history. Sure people had tried to get him to open up before, and he never did. And he never felt bad about not doing so. After all it was _his_ past. He had no obligations to tell anyone about it if they didn't already know. But for some reason, he felt like he owed it to her to open up to her. She had opened up to him without hesitation, and he had already hurt her, although he made up for it. But here she was still willing to open up and give more, if not all of herself to him. He knew all about her crazy family and a lot more about her, but she didn't really know anything about his past. She knew he wasn't a serial killer or a bank robber, but everyone knew that. She was giving him a part of herself that she hadn't given to anyone else, and he wasn't giving her anything in return. He couldn't figure out why he was so closed off towards her. He trusted her with everything, including his heart. He figured it was just out of habit that anytime anyone tried to pry to get closer to him that he would just deflect or push them away. But he didn't want to be like that with her. He wanted her to be happy; he wanted to be the one to make her happy. For some reason, him opening up to her would do that. He had never had someone so genuinely interested and invested in him, and he didn't know how to deal with it. But he trusted her.

"My dad hated me," he told her as he turned back to the keys and started to play. He didn't want to look into her eyes, afraid his words would bring her to her senses and he would see the same hate and disdain for him in her eyes that he saw in his father's eyes. "He made my life a living hell and when I got old enough, I did the same to him. He told me I would never amount to anything, and when I did, he would always tell me that I was going to ruin it."

Lisa just sat and listened to him as he continued to tell his story. In a way she was sorry she had asked, because she didn't want to imagine anyone let a lone someone she cared so deeply for going through what he was describing to her. But she was glad for the information. For one it gave her an idea of where he was coming from when he did and said some of the things he did, which would ultimately be better for both of them in their relationship. And secondly, he was opening up to her, letting her in where he had possibly let no one in before. She listened as he went on. His father sounded like an awful man, and she was starting to understand why Greg was so emotionally closed off.

"I was nothing to him. He wouldn't have cared if I would have lived or died, and I can't say that I felt differently towards him."

Lisa continued looking at him and listening to him play the piano after he finished talking. Although he tried hard to hide it, and did a damn good job at doing so, she could tell that it still bothered him. It still affected him in some way. She was sorry she had brought it up, that she had brought something so painful to the forefront. She placed her hand on his, and he stopped playing and looked at her. She smiled warmly and slid a little closer to him.

"Teach me to play," she told him.

He stared at her for a moment before returning her smile.

"I'm going to assume you suck at this like you did when I first started teaching you the guitar," he said as he grabbed the beginners music book that had come with the piano.

"I do not suck," she said with a laugh.

"Not anymore," he said. "And that's only because I'm the awesomest teacher you could ever have."

He opened the book and started to show her the basic steps of playing the piano. As with everything, she was catching on quickly, and he figured before long, they would be playing songs together. Having a piano in the house was even better than he first thought it would be.  
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Lisa pulled the clothes out of the dryer and put the ones from the washer into the dryer. She then put the next load that she had already separated into the washer. It was her week to do the laundry. She usually did it every week, since Greg was almost always at the hospital. When he would attempt to do it, he wouldn't usually get a chance to finish because he would get called into the hospital. She didn't mind. It wasn't hard, and not very time consuming, and he always helped out when he could. Plus they had their own laundry room in their condo, so she didn't mind. She figured it would continue this way even when she started school. She would still be home more than him. She could actually study from home, whereas he couldn't work from home. She grabbed the basket full of freshly washed and dried clothes and took them into the living room.

"Nervous?" he asked as she dumped the clothes on the sofa between them.

"No. Why would I be nervous?" she asked as they both dug into the clothes and began folding them.

"Well tomorrow is your first day of classes," he started. "I just thought you'd be nervous. Or overly obsessive. You know like you were your first semester at Michigan."

"I'm not obsessive…," she started and he cut her off.

"It's easier to deal with if you just admit it," he said as he continued to fold the clothes.

She just rolled her eyes at him and continued, "…and I've already met most of the people I'll be going to classes with, so there's nothing to be nervous about."

"Okay," he said. He was about to grab a t-shirt but a little piece of red material caught his eyes. He picked it up and a smile came to his face when he saw that it was a pair of her panties. It was a red laced thong with a little black bow sewed onto the front of it, and they were almost see through. The smile disappeared as he realized something.

"Hey," he said making her look up at him. "Why haven't I taken these off of you yet?"

She gave him a disapproving look before snatching them from him and rolling her eyes. "They're new."

"They're nice," he said as he moved closer to her. "What kind do you have on now?" he asked as he began to pull the band of her shorts open trying to get a peak. She put her hand on his chest to stop him from getting closer. "Com'on the clothes can wait until tomorrow."

"No. They can't," she told him, "because no one's going to be home tomorrow to fold them." She wasn't sure how her first day of school was going to go. She wasn't sure how her schedule would work out, and she didn't want to have anything extra that didn't need to be there added to it just yet. She would start to work in the extra things a little later, after she picked up a routine and got used to it.

"Wanna watch a movie?" he asked after they finished folding the clothes and putting them away.

"I wanna go to bed," she said. She would usually stay up later, but she had class in the morning and it was already ten thirty. Having the summer off, had really screwed up her sleep pattern and she wanted to get it back to normal as soon as possible. She was able to make it through undergrad with sometimes as little as four hours of sleep per night, but she doubted she would be able to do the same with med school.

"We can watch The Wizard of Oz," he told her.

"Goodnight Greg," she told him as she got up to go get ready for bed.

"Goodnight Cuddy," he yelled after her.

* * *

Lisa entered the stadium style classroom and found a seat in the middle of the room. There were only a few people in the class already and more were pouring in every second. She took a few things from her back pack that she would need for class and continued to take in her surroundings. She was so busy studying the other people in the class, some of whom she had met the week before at their orientation, and some who she had not, that she didn't notice the girl that sat down next to her.

"Hey," the girl said as she sat in the auditorium next to Lisa. "My name's Lori." She held out her hand and Lisa shook it.

"Lisa," she said with a smile.

"This is exciting," she said. "I never thought I'd actually get into med school let alone Hopkins. I mean not that I don't think I'm smart enough, but it's just so…you know."

"Yeah," Lisa said shaking her head, a little amused by her chatty classmate. The girl had light ash brown hair color and olive green eyes. She was a pretty girl about Lisa's height, and she took a liking to the girl. She kind of reminded her of Kelly by her personality.

"I'm sorry," the girl said realizing that she was babbling to a complete stranger. "You must think I'm crazy."

"No, I don't think you're crazy," Lisa reassured her.

"I tend to talk too much when I'm nervous, and I'm really nervous now."

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Lisa told her. "You're here now."

"Yeah, you're right."

"So, you from around here?" Lisa asked her.

"No," she told her. "That's another reason why I'm so nervous. I just moved her a few weeks ago from a small town. All my family is in the Midwest. I don't know anyone here."

"You do now," she said with a smile.

The girl looked at her and smiled. Well she had been smiling since she sat down, but this was a different smile, not a nervous smile.

"Thanks," she said. "You're really nice."

"Good," Lisa heard a boy say as he sat on the other side of her. "I get a seat next to the nice girls. Ethan," he introduced himself. "So you guys excited about the first day?"

"Yeah," Lori piped up, "what about you?"

"I wasn't but I am now," he said eyeing Lisa. She smiled at him and blushed a little.

They continued their conversation, getting to know one another until the teacher came in and started class.  
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Lisa was down in the hospital cafeteria having lunch with Lori. The first couple of classes had gone over well and they had an hour and a half lunch break between their classes. They were discussing class and all of the information, along with some of their classmates and their teachers, and sharing a little more background information about themselves.

"I think Ethan likes you," Lori said. "He's cute."

"He is cute," Lisa agreed, "but I already have a boyfriend."

"Is he cute?"

"See for yourself," Lisa said as she spotted Greg coming towards her with a smile on his face. She knew that she would be seeing him sometimes, and she was glad for that because they wouldn't have much time together at home with both their schedules.

Lori turned around just as Greg reached the table. "Hey," he said as he sat down next to Lisa and across from Lori.

"Hey," Lisa said. "Greg this is Lori, Lori this is Greg, my boyfriend."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Lori said with a smile. She noticed the scrubs. "You work here."

"PGY2," he told her. "We'll see how long that lasts." He grabbed Lisa's fork and took the half eaten salad off of her plate. "You gonna finish this?" he asked after having almost finished it himself.

"I guess not," she said, happy she had brought the fruit salad now.

"I'll be right back guys, going to get a refill," Lori said as she got up and left the table.

"So how's the day going so far?" he asked her, as he finished off the salad.

"A little fast, a lot of information," she said, "but I think I can handle it."

"Hey Lisa," Ethan said as he sat down at the table. He must have not noticed Greg because he didn't speak to him. "I just came from the bookstore and look what I've got." The boy opened up an anatomy book. It wasn't required for classes, but it was said to be a very helpful learning aid. "Cool isn't it?"

"Well aren't you just the bee's knees," Greg mumbled in a mocking tone so only Lisa could here him.

"Yeah, it is," she said repressing her laugh as she hit Greg's leg under the table, signaling him to shut up. She had sat next to the guy her whole class and had had a fairly decent conversation with him. He was a nice guy; a little too over enthused, but nice none the less.

"I was thinking we could probably get together and study sometime," he suggested. This brought a smile to Greg's face. It always did something for his ego, every time someone hit on her. He was impressed that the boy would hit on the hot female classmate the first day of class. Most people usually waited until the end of the first week, while Greg went for it his first day of orientation.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Lisa said with a smile.

"Maybe you could come over to my place…," the boy said leaving the end of the sentence open and waiting for her to suggest a date and time.

"Ain't gonna happen buddy," Greg mumbled again, so only Lisa could hear. He would have said it out loud, but she had this thing with him mocking people who she claimed 'didn't deserve it'. But he thought he deserved it. He knew exactly what the boy was trying to do. He had succeeded in doing it enough times to see it coming from a mile away.

Lisa smiled and took this as the signal to introduce the two of them. "Ethan, this is my boyfriend, Greg," she said motioning to him.

"Oh," the boy said at the realization. He sounded a little disappointed. "I'm sorry. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Greg said extending his hand. His pager went off and he grabbed the yogurt she had half eaten as he got up from the table. "Gotta go…Cool book," he said pointing to the book Ethan had pulled from his back pack. He put a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth and walked away from the table.

"Where's Greg going?" Lori asked as she came back to the table.

"He got a page," Lisa told her.

"Well you guy's ready to get back to class?" Ethan asked standing up.  
They didn't answer and got up and gathered their things and dumped their trays before heading out of the cafeteria.

* * *

**A/N: Again I can't give away any info... but it'll be obvious when she gets pregnant. Thanks for the reviews and keep'em coming.**


	20. Chapter 19

"Hey," Lisa said before giving Greg a peck on the lips. She looked over his shoulder and into the pot to see the red sauce it contained. "Mmm, smells good. Is it almost ready?"

"It has a little longer?"

"Got time to shower?"

"Well, I already did," he told her, "but if you want me to join you I'm sure I can get a little dirtier."

She smiled at him before going upstairs to shower. She was pleasantly surprised when she found out that he knew how to cook, as he was when he found out the same about her. Before she started school, she would do most of the housework, but a couple of weeks into school, they had started to share the housework more evenly. The rule was whoever was home and knew something needed to be done, they'd do it. They kept in touch during the day, and whoever came home first would make or pick up dinner. Surprisingly both of these rules were working out great. The apartment was clean and they weren't going hungry. She was starting to come home later from the library, so sometimes he would make it home before her. Her first set of tests were coming up in a few weeks and she didn't really know what to expect. Of course he had tried to tell her, but she still felt a little nervous not having her own experience to go off of. She understood the information well enough, there was just so much information crammed into such a small time frame. She knew that she just needed to find her groove with it like she had in undergrad. Hopefully she would adjust a little faster.

When she went back into the living room, she saw that he was on the phone, but the food was not yet finished. She hoped up onto the counter, just as he was hanging up the phone. He walked over to her and stood between her legs. She smiled and both her hands went to the sides of his face as he pressed his lips to hers, giving her a tender kiss.

"How's studying coming along?" he asked.

"Fine," she said still rubbing her hands against his face. "Just wish that I knew what would be on the tests."

"Yeah, and I wish I knew what was wrong with the patient before they came in so I wouldn't actually have to talk to them."

"Bad day at the hospital?" she asked with a sympathetic look.

"Not too bad," he told her. "I got a free trip in a few weeks. Wanna come?"

"A free trip?" she asked confused. "To where?"

"Boston," he told her. "Medical conference."

"That's not a free trip," she told him. "Well not a leisure trip. It's a business trip."

"Yeah, only I'm not actually presenting anything, so I can pick and choose which seminars I attend. They don't care how many I go to, as long as I act like I went to at least one."

"Gee aren't you just the perfect employee," she said sarcastically.

"I know," he said. "So you wanna come? I get to take someone along with me."

"When is it?"

"In four weeks."

"Our first exam week is in four weeks," she informed him.

"It's the weekend after you take exams. That means you won't really have anything to study, and it can be a treat to yourself after acing your first exams."

"I'll think about it."

"Well what are you going to do here?" he asked her. "It would be a chance for us to spend some time together. Unless you're seeing someone else behind my back," he said jokingly as he leaned closer and placed a kiss on her lips. "Is it the book boy?"

She smiled as his lips brushed against hers. "No," she got out before he pressed his lips against hers again. It took him a few moments to pull back and she smiled again, trying to sound as serious as possible. "It's my anatomy professor," she whispered against his lips.

The smirk he had on his face disappeared as he pulled his face away from hers. She started laughing at the look on his face, but he didn't crack a smile. He just looked at her as she held her hand to her chest and continued laughing.

"That's not funny," he said letting a smile come to his face as he turned back to the pots on the stove. She hopped off of the counter still laughing, and got two plates and two glasses for them.

"I had you going," she told him.

"Whatever," he said as he began to place pasta and sauce on both of the plates.

"I was only kidding," she told him, bringing the now full glasses to the table. "You are so much hotter than my anatomy teacher."

"Now you have to come with me," he told her, "or I'm going to think you stayed behind to get with your sixty-eight year old professor."

"Okay, okay I'll go," she gold him, as he placed the plates on the table and sat down across from her.

They had dinner and talked about everything from their friends to the errands they needed to run, before going to bed.

* * *

"Am I even supposed to be in here?" Lisa asked as she followed Greg down the hall to the morgue.

"Depends on who you ask?" he told her.

She looked up at him and rolled her eyes, hoping they wouldn't get caught. She had finished studying early, and was about to head home. He told her he only had one more thing to do, and that she should wait for him so they could go home together. That one more thing he needed to do was to finish up an autopsy, and he convinced her to come along with him. They walked into the room, and a chill went down her spine, not because of the dead bodies, she was used to that by now, but because the room was freezing. She watched as he walked over to one of the bodies.

"Come here," he said gesturing her over. She went over to where an open body lay on the table in front of them. "What's this?"

"You're not supposed to be using these bodies to give me anatomy lessons," she told him.

"Ahh, he doesn't mind," he told her, than turned towards the man's head. "Do you?....See. Now com'on answer the question woman and stop stalling."

She looked down at the organ he was pointing too and sighed before answering him. "Gallbladder."

"Connected to the…?"

"Liver and duodenum."

"And what's it do?" he asked her.

"Stores bile," she started. "Releases it into the liver to help with digestion. Bile emulsifies fats, and neutralizes acids."

"Oh no," he said with mock panic as he cut a little tube coming off of the gallbladder. She just looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "I just cut this little thingy. I wonder what's going to happen to him."

"You cut the bile duct," she told him, knowing that was his way of telling her to step in and give him some answers. She wanted to laugh, but she didn't want to encourage his messing with a dead body. "And he'll be fine…well he would be fine if he hadn't already… anyways, he just won't be able to store bile. It'll go straight from the liver to the duodenum."

He stretched his eyes and turned away from her and back towards the man's head. "You hear that Mr. Smith. You're gonna be fine." He turned back to the slit down the man's stomach. "What's this?"

"Greg, I really don't think you're supposed to be helping me study by violating this corpse."

"I'm not violating his corpse," he defended. "He donated his body to science, and right now you're science so answer the question."

She sighed again and entertained him once more. They went over a few more organs and their functions before the cold got to her and she refused to continue, feeling like she was doing something wrong. She told him she would wait for him upstairs in front of the emergency room, and left him to close up the man's body. She had made her way down the long, cold corridor and had just reached the top step to the first floor. She opened the door and immediately bumped into another warm body. She felt his hands grab on to her hips to keep her from falling backwards. She looked up and saw a familiar face.

"Paul," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."

"No it's fine," he told her as his hands still lingered on her hips. She didn't like the way he was looking at her and the fact that he was still holding onto her firmly. She tried to take a step back, but he held on tighter and only pulled her closer. He continued staring at her, and she started to get a little more uncomfortable.

"You can let go now," she told him putting her hands on top of his. She almost had to pry them off, before he voluntarily released her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he told her. "I just…is Greg down in the morgue?" He asked knowing that he was in fact down there. He knew that would probably be the only reason she would be coming from down there.

"Yeah," she said looking away from him. She didn't feel comfortable enough to look him in the eyes again. He always flirted with her, giving her compliments and things like that. She didn't understand why he kept doing it. He knew that she and Greg were a couple and he was one of Greg's friends. Although Greg didn't seem as close to him as he was with some of his other friends, they still considered themselves to be friends. This was the first time she had ever felt this uncomfortable with him though. Maybe because it was the first time that he had used such aggressive tactics and the first time he had ever really touched her in anyway other than an arm brush or a hand touch or something like that.

She started walking again, but stopped when she heard him call out to her.

"Hey Lise," she heard him say and turned around to look into his eyes. "You look pretty today." He added with a cheesy grin, that made her feel uncomfortable all over again.

"Thanks," she said quietly, before quickly turning around and heading down the hall towards the ER. She couldn't really put her finger on it, but it was something about Paul that she didn't really like. She shook it off and decided not to tell Greg about their little encounter. No need to cause tension between them when they had to work together. She made a mental note to herself to never put her self in a situation where she would be alone with him.

* * *

Lisa sat looking out the large windows as the rain drops fell softly against them, creating an atmosphere of melancholy. She loved weekends like this. She could stay inside and study and just relax. There were no classes to attend so she could hide out inside all day. Greg wasn't on call, so that gave them time to spend together. Days like this were romantic to her, well if you had someone to share them with. A smile came to her face as she felt him come up behind her and wrap his arms around her.

"It's going to rain all day," he said looking out at the ever darkening sky. "Glad I don't have to go out today."

"Yeah, me too," she agreed. "I love days like this."

"They're perfect for lazing around and catching up on some good television shows."

"And bubble baths," she said stepping out of his embrace. He watched her as she seductively walked away from him and up the stairs. It wasn't until she reached the top stair that she turned around to face him. "Coming?"

He smiled and started following her. He began shading his clothes once he made it to the top of the stairs. He heard the water running before he reached the bathroom, and when he got to the door, he saw that she was already in the bathtub. He shed his last piece of clothing before making his way across the fairly large bathroom and over to her. She slid up a little in the bathtub so he could slide in behind her. She waited until he had gotten in a comfortable position and rested his back against the back of the tub before leaning back against him.

"Could this water be any hotter?" he asked as the room started to steam up a little.

"It's relaxing," she said closing her eyes.

"I know something else that's relaxing," he told her.

"Could you not think about sex for one moment?"

"You invited me to take a bubble bath with you," he told her. "What did you think I'd be thinking about? Bathing?"

"Just relax," she said. "You deserve it, even more than I do. And that's saying a lot."

He snaked his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her shoulder. She was right, they both needed time to just relax. The sex could wait until later. They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each others presence, before he spoke.

"So you talked to your dad?" he asked her. He knew that she was worried about her relationship with her family. The only one she had really talked to since her graduation was her sister, and when she would ask about her parents, Jenn would tell her that her dad was still upset with her and her mother wasn't really mad, but felt like she had to take their father's side on the whole issue. He almost felt bad about the way everything had gone down. He wanted her to have a good relationship with her parents because he knew that would make her happy. He didn't want her to be distant and have the type of relationship with her father that he had with his dad. He probably would have walked out of her life, just to give her a better relationship with her father. She would have eventually fallen in love with someone else and lived a happy life with him, but his leaving wouldn't have solved anything. Her father would still be mad with her for going to medical school and not doing what he wanted her to do.

"No," she said sadly. "He still won't talk to me."

"What about your mom?"

"She talked to me, but not for long. She just told me that she's not mad at me, and that I can come home to visit whenever I want, but I'm not going back there anytime soon," she told him. "My dad still needs some time to cool off… I don't understand why he's so stubborn."

"So that's where you get it from?" he said trying to lighten the mood again.

"Yeah I guess so," she started. "Sometimes I think he wishes I was born a boy. Then my going to school wouldn't be such a big problem with him."

"Well look on the bright side," he told her. "He has to get over it eventually."

She let out a short chuckle, "You don't know my dad."

She knew that there was a good chance that her and her dad would begin speaking again. She just didn't know how long it would take before he came around. And even then he would still throw it back in her face every time they got into an argument. All she had to do was not do anything to piss him off further, and he would probably be talking to her again in a couple of months.

"So what are we going to eat for dinner tonight?" Greg asked her, changing the subject and trying to brighten her mood again.

"I don't know. What are you cooking?"

"No, it's your turn to cook dinner," he told her. "I did it last weekend."

"Okay, what do you want?"

"Chicken stir fry?"

"Mmm, how about vegetable and tofu stir fry," she suggested.

"Why is that I'm forced into becoming a vegetarian?"

"You are not," she defended. "You still eat meat, and you can cook your own meat if you want to. There's some in the freezer."

"Why don't you cook it? You're the one making dinner."

"You want meat," she said rising up out of the water, "you cook it."  
She stepped out of the tub, grabbed the towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body before leaving out of the bathroom. He had meant to argue back, but the sight of her body dripping wet with patches of bubbles she had taken with her when she got out of the water made him loose his train of thought.

* * *

"Bad news," Paul said putting his hand on Greg's shoulder. "I don't think I'm going to be able to come to the conference with you."

"Aww that's too bad," he replied as seriously as he could.

"Yeah, I'll catch the next one that comes around though," Paul said as he continued down the hall. "I'll see you guys later."

"You don't really like him do you?" Steven asked once Paul was out of ear shot.

"He's okay," Greg said looking over the patient file he had just picked up. "Just something about him…I can't put my finger on it."

"Is it the way that he's always complimenting Lisa?" Steven asked with a smile. "You know he likes her."

"Yeah I know that," Greg told him. "That's not a concern. He just seems a little shady."

"Think so? He doesn't come off that way to me."

"Maybe it's just me," he told him. "Maybe I'm imagining things."

"Or maybe it's the fact that you know he wants your girl," he replied teasingly.

"Told you, there's no danger in that water."

"So we still going out Thursday night?"

"Of course, I don't have to work on Friday and then my free weekend trip after that," Greg started. "It would be immoral of me not to go out drinking the night before."

Steven laughed as they parted ways, each going to visit their respective patients.


	21. Chapter 20

"Toothbrush, toothpaste…" Lisa repeated to herself as she saw each item in the bag. She was about to continue until she heard Greg call out to her from the other room.

"Where'd you put my black button up?" he asked her.

"Didn't _you_ put it in the closet?" she yelled back to him. She didn't understand why it was that every time he couldn't find something, he automatically assumed she knew where it was. Sure they lived together, but it wasn't like she just went around moving his things just for the fun of it.

"No, I don't think so," he yelled back. "Did you wash it?"

"Yes, I washed it with the rest of your clothes. You were supposed to put them away." She remembered that there was still a fresh batch of clean clothes in the laundry room that they hadn't had a chance to put away yet. "Check in the laundry room."

She turned back to the tote bag in front of her and continued through her mental checklist. "Soap, shampoo," sure the hotel had their own, but she liked hers better. She walked out onto the upstairs balcony still going through the bag for all of her personal care products, and ran across a little small compact disc.

"Definitely need to take one of these before I leave," she said taking it out of the bag. She had been trying to become more mindful of taking her birth control pills. She tried to take them at the same time everyday like the instructions said to do, but that didn't seem to be working. Her life was just so hectic at the time that she would often forget to take them and have to take two in one day. She would take them ranging from in the morning when she woke up or she would forget and end up taking them sometime later in the day or right before she went to bed at night. They didn't always use protection and so far they had been pretty lucky to not have a little person on the way. She went down stairs to get a glass of water and popped the little pill out of the dispenser. She sat it on the counter along with the dispenser that held the rest of her pills for that month. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and was about to fill it with water when Greg called out to her again.

"I can't find it," he said. "Where'd you put it?"

She let out a frustrated breath before placing the glass on the counter and going upstairs to help him look for the shirt that he had misplaced.

"Where'd you look?" she asked him as she watched him go through the closet.

"In the closet," he told her, "where you usually put it. We're going to be late."

"We're already running late," she told him, as she began to help him search. "Did you put those clothes away that were in the laundry room Tuesday?"

"Yes," he told her getting a little frustrated. He really wanted to take the shirt with him. That was the shirt he would wear to the one seminar he planned to attend and he didn't want to leave it behind. They were already running fifteen minutes late and he didn't want to miss their flight. As soon as he found the shirt they would be out of the door.

Lisa made her way over to the chest and began going through the drawers. She knew he had a habit of putting clothes away where they didn't belong. He would fold everything and put it in one of the drawers so he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of finding a hanger for it. When she got to the third drawer she moved some of the clothes aside, and to no surprise of hers there was the black shirt he was looking for.

"When I put this away," she said holding the shirt up and drawing his attention to it, "I put it in the closet on the hanger."

"Okay so I misplaced it," he said grabbing the shirt from her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry."

He threw the shirt in the suitcase and zipped it up. "Let's go before we miss our flight."

They went downstairs and grabbed the rest of the suitcases that were sitting by the door and headed out to her car. After placing the luggage in the back seat, she hopped in on the passenger side and he got in behind the stirring wheel. He cranked up the engine and sped off down the highway.

"Could you slow down?" she asked him.

"No I can't, because if I do. We're going to miss our flight."

"Yeah well if you don't we might opt out of it for a trip to the emergency room instead," she told him.

He ignored her warnings and continued to speed towards the airport, making it there in record time. They found a parking spot in the garage of the airport and grabbed their luggage before quickly making it into the airport. It took a while for them to check in and by the time they got through security, their flight was beginning to board.

"Just in time," he told her. "See if I would have listened to you, we would have missed it."

She just rolled her eyes at him as they walked towards the terminal where their flight was boarding.  
0000000000000000000000000000000000000

"That was fun," Lisa said as they walked back into their hotel room. "I wish we could stay more than three days."

They had just come back from an evening out on the town. There was just so much to do in Boston and so little time. They had checked in and after Greg had signed in for the conference, he had opted to skip out on the events of the first night in favor spending it downtown with Lisa.

"Yeah, this hotel room is sweet," he said as he sat down on the sofa in the living room and clicked on the television.

"Well I'm going to go take a shower," she said walking towards the bedroom.

"Okay. I'll order room service for dinner," he called behind her.  
He picked up the telephone and ordered himself some nice red meat, while ordering her something meatless. Within twenty minutes, the food had arrived at the door and he heard her getting out of the shower.

"Hey, the food's here," he called to her.

"What'd you get me," she asked coming out of the room wearing one of the soft plush robes that the hotel had provided.

"Spaghetti and meatless balls," he told her.

She smiled and joined him at the table next to the window that over looked the city. She took the cover off of her food and examined it. "Thanks for not ordering me meat this time," she told him.

"It's your present for letting me induct you into the mile high club," he winked at her and she smiled remembering the not so appropriate things they had done on the airplane.

They sat and had dinner and talked about the things that they should do that weekend. She had tried to talk him into going to more seminars, since that was actually why the hospital had paid for him to come, but he only found a few interesting and refused to go to anymore, and she agreed to go to those with him. He asked her how she thought she had done on her tests and their conversation drifted towards the hospital. He was telling her about this old lady that was trying to come on to Steven and she was laughing at him. She stopped, feeling a little self-conscience when he just smiled and looked at her thoughtfully.

"What?" she asked him shyly.

"Nothing," he said. "I just never thought I'd end up with someone as beautiful as you."

She blushed a little and smiled before leaning across the table and kissing him. "Yeah, well you're stuck with me, so get used to it."

He grabbed her hand and stood up before pulling her out of her chair and closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed another kiss on her lips. The kiss deepened and he picked her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. They continued kissing as he brought her into the bedroom and laid her down gently on the bed as he positioned himself over her, propping himself up with his hands. He untied the robe and she slid out of it and grabbed his shirt, pulling him with her as she slid back on the bed. Their mouths met again as she began tugging on the bottom of his shirt. He let her pull it over his head, and brought his mouth to her neck as she began running her hands over his arms and back, feeling the hard muscles flex beneath her fingertips. She let out a quiet whimper when she felt his warm mouth come into contact with her breasts. She arched into him and her hand went to the back of his neck as she felt his tongue spiral against her hardened nipple. He left that breast with a soft kiss before starting on the left.

She felt his mouth starting to move lower and giggled a little when she felt him dip his tongue into her navel. She felt him smile against her stomach, and his mouth continued to travel down her body. He spread her thighs open and placed wet kisses all over her pelvis and inner thighs.

"Desert," he said looking up at her with a smirk before his mouth finely met the desired destination. He began sucking on her clit. She gasped and bucked her hips softly as her moans grew louder and her fingers entangled themselves in his hair. He responded by pushing her legs farther apart and plunging his tongue into her core. She gently started pushing her hips up against his mouth. She didn't want to stop him, but she managed to get enough control of herself. She put her hands on the sides of his face and pulled him back to her. He leaned down and kissed her, letting her taste herself on his tongue, as he let his hands roam all over her body.

She pulled back from the kiss and looked him in the eyes. "I need you inside of me," she whispered against his lips. Her hands went down to his jeans and she started to unbutton them. "Now," she breathed out as a smile came to his face. He leaned away from her and slid his jeans and boxers off after she had unzipped them. He positioned himself back over her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you," he told her before he penetrated her with one long, even motion. She let out a long deep moan and her stomach muscles tightened a little as she felt him fill her up. He pulled out and re-entered her, picking up a pace of short shallow thrusts. He was teasing her, not letting her feel the full length of him. She rocked her hips under him trying to get him to push deeper inside of her, but he pulled back a little not letting more of his member enter her than he wanted to. Her head fell back against the pillow with a defeated sigh. "Uhn… Greg," she moaned out in frustration.

He gave into her plea and she arched her back and grabbed onto his biceps as she felt him push his full length into her again. "Oh God," she breathe out as he picked up what seemed to be the perfect pace. Slow, but not too slow, and steady. She loved it when he made love to her; he made the world revolve around her when he did. He was gentle and his mouth and hands probed her body, always finding the right places to kiss, lick, and caress. It was the total opposite of what they had done on the airplane, when they were screwing like two teenagers in heat trying not to get caught by their parents. Not that she had any problems with that. She always liked having sex with him, but she liked making love to him even more. It was one of his many ways of showing her how truly in love he was with her.

He brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth. "Does it feel good?" he asked, before placing a small kiss there.

"Mmmm," she moaned out as her hands moved to his back, and her nails started to dig lightly into his flesh. "…you're so deep…," she managed to get out through her labored breathing. He continued to place small kiss all over her face and neck while increasing his pace a little.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear, as he continued to increase his speed. She kissed the side of his neck as her hands began to glide up and down his back. Both of their bodies were covered with a thin mist of sweat.

"I love you," she whispered into his neck.

They went on for another hour and a half, him only stopping to let her ride out her first two orgasms. He had managed to hold himself back. He wanted this to last as long as possible. Her legs were now wrapped around his waist and he hoisted them higher, getting a better angle of penetration when he felt her muscles starting to tense again. She let out a small scream and moaned out his name as he felt her muscles convulse violently around his erection. He couldn't hold back this time, she came hard, and brought him to his own orgasm. He thrust into her one more time and let out a rugged groan as he released a hot stream of fluid into her that had been building in his loins for the past couple of hours.

He stayed inside of her, too tired to pull out and lowered himself down into her waiting arms, careful not to crush her under his weight. She wrapped her arms around him and began running her fingers through his hair. He rubbed his hand up and down her leg that was still wrapped around his waist, both of them too tired and out of breath to communicate their feelings for one another in any other way. They lay like that for a few more minutes before he pulled his head away from the crook of her neck and looked down at her. She looked up at him with a warm smile and a look of contentment as one of her hands went to his cheek and she began to caress his face. He looked down at her searching her eyes and finding all that he needed in them. He smiled back at her and she pulled him down to her pressing their lips together. They broke the kiss and he rested his forehead against hers a little while before he pulled out of her and laid on side of her pulling her into him. She rested her head on his chest, and exhausted, they both fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

"Mmm," Lisa groaned as she stretched out in the large bed in the middle of the room. She had a huge smile on her face as she opened her eyes. The sun shined through the window giving the room its own unique glow. She sighed and snuggled up against the fluffy whitecomforter that lay awkwardly across the bed. She didn't want to get up. Everything from her stomach muscles down to her thighs ached, but in a good way. She heard the shower cut off and knew that was why she was alone in bed. She looked at the clock, it was almost twelve. They had already missed one of the seminars they had wanted to go to for that day. She wondered why he hadn't awaken her so they could have gone.

She reluctantly threw the covers off of her and noticed the large hand prints still embedded on her bare hips and a smile came to her face as she remembered round two of the night before. She didn't know where they had gotten the energy from and admired his stamina when she felt his fingers running through her hair. She had opened her eyes and looked at him, and instantly felt him brushing up against her thigh. He pulled her on top of him and she had ridden him long and hard, leaving him gripping at her hips and ultimately leaving his hand prints on her flesh, as he exploded inside of her.

She grabbed the robe off of the floor and put it on before walking into the bathroom to find him dressed from the waist down. He was standing over the sink and had just finished brushing his teeth.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked him. "I really wanted to go to that seminar."

"Me too," he said turning around to face her. "I only got up thirty minutes ago, I was tired. You wore me out." He put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him as a smirk came across his face and a satisfied grin across hers. "Round three?"

"I don't think so," she said pulling away from him. "I'm still recovering from last night. I'm going to take a shower and we can go down and get something to eat and maybe catch a seminar or two."

"Yeah, I need a shower too," he said trying to follow her towards the bathtub.

"Get out," she said pushing him out of the bathroom. The man was insatiable.

She turned on the water, mostly hot, and untied the robe letting it fall to the floor. She stepped in under the hot stream of water and let it beat against her skin, taking away some of the soreness brought on by the night before.

Thirty minutes later she stepped out of the shower, and wrapped one of the over sized plush, white towels around her. She sighed and wiped away the steam from the bathroom mirror and stared at her reflection for a while. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. Her life was good. She was on her way to accomplishing one of her biggest goals, becoming a doctor, and she was madly in love with a man that felt the same way about her. She had never thought that she would be one of those lucky people that found love young, but she had, and it didn't seem like it was going to be over anytime soon, and hopefully ever.

"Hey Lise?" she heard Greg say as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah," she called back to him as she took her toothbrush out of the bag.

"I'm going down to the lobby to see what's going on down there," he told her. "I'll be back in a few."

"Okay," she said with a slight chuckle, knowing he had probably grown bored and couldn't find anything to watch on television.

She brushed her teeth and blow dried her hair. She searched through the bag for the little compact disc she thought she had packed, but couldn't find it. She stopped and looked around the bathroom, thinking maybe it had fallen out. "Shit," she said to herself as a picture of the little disc sitting on their kitchen counter flashed across her mind.

"I forgot it home." She searched through the bag again just to make sure she was remembering correctly. 'Did I take one yesterday?' she thought to herself. 'I hope I did or this'll be the second month in a row I've missed more than two.' Nope, it wasn't in the bag. 'Okay calm down. You have no reason to freak out, just start taking them again once you get home.' She sighed and smiled to herself again realizing that she really didn't have any reason to freak out. Luck was on her side. She had missed pills before and nothing had happened, so there was no reason to think things would go any differently this time. If they were going to have sex again before they got home, she just had to make him use a condom.

She walked out of the bathroom and pulled out some clothes they had hung in the closet when they had first arrived at the hotel. By the time she had gotten dressed, Greg had returned to the room, and they headed back down again to attend one of the seminars that was about to start.

* * *

**A/N: A little late night update...Review please??**


	22. Chapter 21

"That turned out to be better than I thought," Lisa said with a smile as they walked back into the hotel room. She was excited because she had met a medical scientist that had told her that he would like to have her come and work in his lab for her summer break, and the good news was that it came with a stipend. She had been thinking about trying to find a job in the lab for the three months she would be out of school. It was the last real summer break she would get and wanted to spend it doing something productive.

"Yeah it was," Greg said, having done some successful networking of his own. He laid down on the sofa. "So what do you wanna do tonight? Pick wisely, we go back tomorrow."

"Let's just go out again and sight see…," she told him. "Oh and we need to pick up some condoms."

"Why?"

"Are you going to want to have sex again before we get home?" she asked him.

He looked up at the ceiling as she lied down on top of him. "Hmmm, more than likely," he told her.

"Well we need to get some because I forgot my BCP's home."

"How'd you forget your pills?" he asked her sounding a little panicked.

"I'm pretty sure it was because you kept bothering me about the shirt that you misplaced," she told him.

"Had you been taking them before we left?" he asked her.

"Relax, I've been taking them," she told him. "I just can't remember if I took it yesterday or not and of course today, but I'll take two tomorrow when we get home. Just don't let me forget."

"Oh, I won't. Believe me." He told her.

She rolled her eyes. This was the one hurdle that they still had to get around in their relationship. They were on the same page right then, neither of them wanted kids at the moment. She would want some eventually, after she graduated from medical school and got married, preferably during her residency and after she had married him. She didn't want to force anything on him and hoped that he would change his mind on his own. She thought he would make a great father. He was kind, loving, caring and fun to be around, although he hid that part of himself from most people. And although he claimed he hated kids, she knew he liked them more than most adults and got along with them better too, having found him herself hiding out in the pediatric ward playing Nintendo with some of the sicker children that had to be admitted and had been or planned to be there for a while. He had claimed that he was there for the gaming system, but she knew it was more to it than that.

"Com'on. Get up and lets go," she said climbing off of him and going over to the door.

There was a few more hours of day light left so they decided to go to the zoo. They ended up almost getting kicked out due to Greg feeding the animals when the signs clearly said not to. His excuse was that they were hungry. The monkey's were looking at him with sad eyes and reaching their hands out for his peanuts. She had begged him to stop, and had pulled him out of the zoo herself after one of the attendees gave them a scolding look. The sun was setting and they decided to take a walk in the park. They ended up going to a bar right outside of Fenway Park and watching a Red Sox game. It was a little late when the game ended, but Greg made sure that they stopped somewhere to get a box of condoms.

The next morning they ended up spending the entire day at the conference. It was the final day and Greg wanted to go since they had free food for the closing events. After it was over, they went back to their room to grab their luggage, checked out, and hopped in a cab to the airport to catch their flight back to Baltimore.

* * *

It had been two and a half weeks since they had gone to the medical convention, and Greg was back into the full swing of work and Lisa was back into the full swing of school…well kind of.

"What's wrong with you?" Lori asked as Lisa sat next to her in their classes. "You look sick."

"I'm not sick," she told her, "I'm just a little tired." It was true. She wasn't feeling sick she just figured that she needed a break from school. She could pull it together for a few more weeks. She would be getting a couple of extra days off for Thanksgiving break, she would recoup then. She blamed her increasing tiredness on not having caught up on her sleep from all the things her and Greg did when they went to Boston. They had hardly slept at all that weekend, and had spent most of it out on the town or down in the hotel lobby attending the seminars and meeting new people. The other reason she believed she was so tired was because of the sporadic schedule on which she had been taking her birth control pills. She had been taking them everyday since she had gotten back from Boston, but thought that her hormones were still a little out of whack after missing a few. She had experienced a little spotting the week before and was currently waiting for her cycle to start. She was a little late, but she contributed that too to missing the pills.

"Yeah, well, you look a lot tired," Lori returned.

"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically.

"Oh guess what," Lori told her, but didn't wait for her to answer. "I met a guy."

"What's his name and where'd you meet him?" Lisa asked sitting up in her desk as her friends enthusiasm rubbed off on her.

"Well his name is Seth and I met him at that club downtown we always go to," she said.

"The Warehouse?"

"Yeah," she said. "You have to meet him, he is so hot. He's a grad student here and he's like two years older than us, and did I mention he's hot."

"Yeah, I think you might've mentioned it," Lisa said laughing at her friend.

"So when do I get to meet him?"

"When do you want to meet him?" she asked.

"You guy's can come over this weekend for dinner…," she said than thought about it, "… no wait. Greg's on call this weekend how about next weekend?"

"Next weekend would be great for me," she said. "Let me ask him and I'll get back to you."

"Hey guys," Ethan said as he slid into the desk next to Lori. The boy had become a really good friend of Lisa's and had eventually gotten over the little crush he had on her at the beginning of the year. "What's up?"

"I met a guy," Lori spat out.

"And he's hot," Lisa added.

"Well it looks like your cold Lise," he said as a smile came to his face and he pointed to her shirt. She looked down and saw that he could see the outline of her nipples through her shirt. Her mouth fell open and she felt her face get hot as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Want my sweater?" Lori offered, taking it from the back of her chair and extending it towards Lisa.

She wasn't cold, but she took it anyway. "Thanks," she said as she put it on and pulled it across her chest.

"I'm sorry," Seth said with a smile. "Don't be embarrassed. I'm a guy, we're wired to automatically notice things like that."

"Shut up," she told him, with a serious face. He only laughed at her as they turned to the front of the classroom where the teacher was getting ready to start class.

* * *

"Hey," Greg said as Lisa walked into the kitchen. He was making himself a sandwich for the ride to work. He had just gotten a page from the hospital for him to come in.

"Hi," she said as she stood on her toes and placed a kiss on his lips. "Going in?"

"Yup, probably just going to stay at the hospital," he told her. "I got a feeling it's going to be one of those nights."

"Have fun," she said as she started to search through the fridge for something to eat. "Why is there no food in this house?"

"Probably because we ate it all," he told her as he turned back to the bread that lay in front of him. "Make a sandwich."

"I don't want a sandwich," she said, now going through the pantry. He leaned on the counter, ate his sandwich and watched her as she put her hands on a bag of almonds, and thought about it a little while before taking them and going back over to the refrigerator. She pulled out a carton of vanilla icing and sat it on the counter along with the almonds.

"Now I understand," he said sarcastically. "Who wants a sandwich when you can have a gourmet meal."

"I'll go grocery shopping this evening," she said ignoring his comment. She was too focused on the task at hand, as she pulled a spoon from the drawer. She opened the icing and poured some of the almonds into the carton, then dug the spoon in and scooped out a huge chunk of it and placed it in her mouth. She moaned and closed her eyes as she let the spoon linger in her mouth.

"They say almonds are aphrodisiacs," he said as he walked over and placed a kiss on her cheek. "You better watch out you're getting soft," he said poking her gently in the tummy. "See you babe, hopefully sometime within the next twelve hours... hopefully." With that he walked out of the door.

She pulled the spoon out of her mouth and licked her lips getting the last remnants of the icing. She pulled her shirt up and looked down at her tummy, before running her fingers across it. "I'm not getting soft," she said out loud as if trying to convince herself. 'He doesn't know what he's talking about,' she thought to herself. 'Stupid.' She had to admit her stomach wasn't as tight as it normally was, but it was still pretty firm. But she always ate more and ate lots of sweets before she started her cycle. Her body would return to normal after her cycle finally started.

* * *

Greg was staring off into space as the other young doctors around him seemed to find fun in spraying each other with syringes full of water. It had been quiet for the last half hour and that had allowed him time to think. 'Tired, looks a little flushed every now and then, boobs a little bigger than usual…not that I'm complaining… although they were a fairly nice size before…, okay focus… she's been a little irritated…with me mostly. Hmmm, she could be on her cycle…she hasn't said anything to me about being late or missing it… that must be it, she's own her cycle. I never thought I'd say this, but God I hope she's on her cycle…,' his thoughts were interrupted by a stream of liquid being shot into his face.

He looked up to see Donna standing over him laughing with a syringe in her hand and Steven standing behind her. He could hear the other doctors playing out in the hall.

"Man you were zoned out," Steven said.

"You guys are idiots," he said with a smirk as he got up out of his chair and started searching around the office. "Everyone knows syringes are not effective for having a water fight. Now, where's that bucket we use for our paper basketball shoot outs?"

"Oh no," Donna said backing up towards the door.

"Hey man, she's the one that sprayed you, not me," Steven said raising both his hands up.

"Oh, I know. Don't worry, I'll get her back before the nights over with," he said.

"Aww com'on," she said, realizing that she would have to be on the look out until he eventually got her back. "It was a joke. Can't you just squirt me with a syringe?"

"That would be too easy," he said as all of their pagers started to go off.

One of their patients was going into cardiac arrest. They stabilized him but he was in a coma. They came up with some more theories of what could be wrong with him, from the new symptoms they added in with the old ones. They came up with a few more ideas and sent the interns to run some tests. Greg kept his word and ended up getting Donna back. He enlisted Steven's help to corner her in the locker room and dunk her under the shower. She officially quit the game after that. They finally got to go home when they diagnosed the guy, which was their last patient, with Baylisascaris infection.

When he got home he found Lisa sprawled out on the sofa with her face in one of her text books. He started to wake her, but decided to get something to eat first. He opened the refrigerator and saw that it was as bare as he had left it and so was the pantry.

"Baby wake up," he said shaking her lightly. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I thought you said you were going to go grocery shopping?"

"I was tired," she said groggily as she closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep.

"Come on and get in the bed," he said pulling her off of the sofa.

"No, I'm too tired. I'm fine here."

"Yeah, but your teacher is going to think you're trying to cheat when you show up with a page from your physiology book printed on your face," he said as he pulled her to her feet. "Com'on, I'll carry you."

He scooped her up in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. He placed her on her side of the bed and she curled up under the covers. He went and took a shower before getting in next to her.

* * *

"Are they almost finished?" she asked as she came down the stairs.

"Almost."

"They're going to be here any minute and I want everything to be finished when they get here," she told him.

"Well maybe you should've cooked everything," he told her as he opened the oven to check the breadsticks once more. "They're your guests."

"No," she corrected. "They're our guests, and all I asked you to do was bake the bread, I even cooked the meat this time."

"So what if they have to wait a few minutes? We're feeding them, they won't go anywhere."

"Lori really likes this guy and I just want to have a nice dinner with them."

"Well we should've gone to a restaurant," he told her.

"Could you stop being an asshole about this for one second?" she asked and he just stared at her for a moment.

"One second, over," he said.

She rolled her eyes, and they heard the doorbell ring.  
"They're here," she said looking back over at him.

"They're done," he said with a sarcastic smile, as he started to take the pan out of the oven.

She shook her head and went towards the door to open it.

"Hey Lori," she said with a smile as her friend stepped in and gave her a hug.

"Hey Lise," Lori returned with a smile before turning back to the man behind her. "This is Seth, Seth this is my friend Lisa."

"Hi," he said with a smile as he shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," she said returning his smile. Seth was tall, about Greg's height, and Lori was right. He was hot. He had short, medium brown hair and a broad frame to go along with his very muscular body. He wasn't a muscle head by far, but you could tell he worked out.

"I brought some cider," Lori said.

"Good because I sent Greg shopping and he forgot to pick up the wine, but somehow seemed to pick up an extra six pack of beer. I'll have cider with you because I have to study after dinner." She knew Lori didn't drink, so she didn't worry about going to get the wine when Greg _forgot_ it.

They walked into the living room to find Greg sitting on the sofa watching television. Lisa walked over and turned off the television, shooting him an evil glare before turning back towards Seth and Lori with a smile on her face.

"Seth, this is my boyfriend, Greg," she said motioning to him. "I apologize ahead of time."

"Good to meet you man," Seth said walking over and shaking Greg's hand.

"You don't know that yet," Lisa mumbled.

"You too," he returned with his eyes still focused on Lisa, cursing her for turning off the pre-game show he was watching. "Okay, enough with the unnecessary chatter," he started again, as he got up and headed towards the dining room. "We've got an hour to eat, because then the game comes on and I'm not missing this."

"The Orioles and the Red Sox game, I forgot about that," Seth said following him. "We have to eat fast. I wanna see that one too."

"Maybe I was wrong about you," Greg told him.

Lisa smiled and looked a Lori apologetically. "Don't worry, as you can see, I understand," Lori told her.

They followed the guys into the dining room. They ate and talked mostly about themselves, trying to learn more about each other. They talked mostly about Seth, since he was the least known around the table. Lori had already made herself familiar with Lisa and with Greg, although he would prefer she hadn't. She was an okay person, he just thought she had too much energy and she was too nice. Everyone had finished eating, except for Lisa who was still nibbling on the left over breadsticks in the breadbasket. They were still sitting around the table talking when Greg noticed the time.

"Uh-oh, game's on," he said getting up from the table. "Gotta go." He walked back towards the living room and Seth followed him. They made a pit stop in the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers before taking up residence in front of the television.

"So what do you think of Seth?" Lori asked Lisa.

"He seems nice, and he really seems to like you," she told her. "And he's hot, which is always a plus."

"I know right," the girl replied giddily at her best friend's approval of her new boyfriend. "Com'on, I'll help you wash these dishes."

They cleared the table and went into the kitchen and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. Lisa grabbed the last breadstick, and her and Lori went into the living room to watch the game with Greg and Seth.


	23. Chapter 22

If was after ten the night before Thanksgiving and Greg had just gotten home from the hospital. He would only have to go in for a half day tomorrow so he would be able to spend the rest of the day with Lisa. They had decided not to go home, because Greg didn't want to go to his parents' house and Lisa only had that Thursday and Friday off along with the weekend. She didn't think it was worth it to go home unless she would be staying for at least a week. Instead, she could stay home and rest and catch up on some much needed sleep and studying.

Greg closed the front door behind him and locked it. He walked into the living room and saw Lisa asleep on the sofa again, only this time her face wasn't planted in a book. He threw his backpack on the arm chair and proceeded in what had almost become routine for him; waking her up so she could go get in the bed.

"Lise," he said shaking her gently. "Why don't you come and get in the bed?"

"No," her eyes were still closed, but she managed to push him away. "I don't wanna."

"Com'on," he said trying to pull her up off of the sofa, "why would you sleep on the couch when there's a perfectly good bed upstairs."

"Because I don't feel like going up stairs," she told him.

"I think…," he tried, but she cut him off.

"I don't care what you think," she said as her eyes shot open. Her steel blue eyes seemed to be burning a hole through him, and he wondered why she seemed so thoroughly pissed at him. He could swear he saw a vicious storm of gray clouds and blue rain droplets brewing in her eyes every time she looked at him like that.

"I was just trying…," he started, preparing to defend himself.

"I know what you're trying to do and I told you that I don't want to go upstairs," she said. He noticed her expression softened and she started to frown up. He saw the threatening tears as they glistened in her eyes. "I'm just tired Greg. Can't you just let me sleep… please." She didn't really know why she was crying, and after a second of thinking about it, she didn't really care. She figured it was justified. He was the one being the big meanie trying to wake her up and break her rest.

He looked at her, now even more confused than he was before. "Yeah, sure," he said as he stooped down to get closer to her. "I'm sorry." He wiped one of the tears that had fallen away. He then kissed her on her forehead."Go back to sleep. I'm going to go take a shower."

"Thank you," she said with a smile before closing her eyes. He was so sweet.  
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Lisa rolled over on the couch and smiled but didn't open her eyes. She was finally feeling a little more energized, having slept almost the whole day before. She was feeling better…that is until she felt the contents of her stomach starting to rise up in her throat. Her eyes shot open and she darted down the hall towards the downstairs bathroom. She slammed the door behind her and made it to the porcelain toilet just in time, as the contents in her throat forced their way out of her mouth. She was barely able to take a breath before more of the vile substance spewed out into the bowl she was now hovering over.

After she felt she was finished, and was completely sure that she had emptied her stomach, she sat on the floor and leaned against the wall opposite the toilet. 'What did I eat?' she thought to herself, feeling a little weak now. 'I hope it's just an upset stomach, and not food poisoning.' She figured she had had a bad reaction to something she had eaten, never even thinking about the fact that the monthly visitor she had been expecting never showed. She had already explained that away to having whacked out hormones because of the sporadic schedule she took her birth control on that month, although she had never missed it before.

She was sitting on the floor, still trying to regain some of her strength, when she heard light tapping on the bathroom door. She looked up just as Greg opened the door.

"You alright?" he asked with a look of concern, on his face. He hadn't heard her puking, but he didn't like the way she looked sitting up against the wall in the bathroom.

"Yeah," she said. "I just don't feel very well. I think it was something I ate."

He just looked at her not sure of what to make of what she had just said. "Oh, okay," he said reluctantly. "Well if you don't want to you don't have to cook anything. I think there's this restaurant down by the hospital that's open today and they're serving turkey dinners. I'll bring you one, and we can eat when I get home."

"Thanks," she said with a weak smile.

"I'm leaving now," he told her. "Is there anything else you need me to bring back."

"No, I don't need anything," she said as she put her head in her hands.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said reassuringly as she pulled herself up off of the floor. "I'm just going to do some studying until you get back."

"Okay, I'll see you later," he left her standing at the sink in the bathroom and headed off to work.

The rest of the day didn't go too well for Lisa. She still felt a little weak and tried to eat something else, figuring it would give her a little bit of her strength back, but ended up throwing it right back up. She had settled on a box of saltines by the time Greg had gotten home with their food. She tried to eat that, hoping the saltines had calmed her stomach, but she could only get half way through the meal before she was back in the bathroom. Greg was in the kitchen leaning against the counter when she walked back out. He watched her silently as she walked over to the cupboard, took a glass out then walked over the sink and began to fill it with water. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to know.

"You know I've been thinking," he told her, making her look up at him as she continued drinking from the glass, "you've been tired a lot lately, maybe you should go to the doctor and get some vitamins."

"Maybe I will," she said quietly as she dumped the rest of the water out of the glass and into the sink.

This conversation was going right where he wanted it to go, unfortunately he wasn't good at being subtle. "So what kind are you going to ask for," he started again, "prenatal or…non...prenatal?"

She just stared at him for a moment, digesting what he had said. "What?" she asked sounding annoyed.

"I wanted to know what kind of vitamins you were going to get," he defended.

"Why don't you just come out and ask me if I'm pregnant?"

"Are you?"

"No," she said now sounding offended. "Why would you think I'm pregnant, that's just stupid. Do you even think about or try to at least monitor the things you let come out of your mouth?"

"Yeah I do," he said getting a little offended himself. "Just trying to see if you're monitoring the things that may or may not be coming out of your hoo-ha."

He looked in her face and he would have sworn that she was hurt by his comment if it wasn't for the intense anger he saw rising in her face. He was sorry he had started the conversation, figuring he was now going to get an earful, but she held back.

"No," she told him calmly, "but I am putting a firm restriction on the things that go into it." She left him standing there with his mouth open as she stalked upstairs to the bedroom.

He wanted to apologize. He knew he should have, especially since he had just gotten himself cut off, but she had started it. He had only asked her a question and she had lit into him. He should be the one angry. He decided to go apologize and see what else he could do to shorten his 'no sex' punishment.

* * *

It was the week after Thanksgiving and they had decided to meet up with some friends at a local bar for food and drinks to kick off the weekend. Lisa had finally managed to get her stomach problem under control, after throwing up just about every morning, then dragging herself to classes. She hadn't thrown up that morning and was beginning to feel a little better. Lori had even decided to join them although she didn't drink, she still loved the cheese fries the place served.

The waiter came over and took their orders. Everyone around the table had ordered alcoholic beverages and Lisa and Lori were the only two left. The waitress looked at them and waited for them to order.

"I'll have a coke," Lori said.

"Yeah me too," Lisa ordered, and the waiteress went to go get their drinks. She noticed that Donna and Greg just stared at her.  
"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Donna started. "I just can't believe you're not drinking."

"I just don't want Lori to not drink by herself," she said quietly, "that's all."

Her eyes redirected to Greg who was still staring at her. This made him even more suspicious. He knew Lori didn't mind not drinking alone, and he knew Lisa knew that. He wanted to say something, but figured it wouldn't be the best idea, seeing that they were out in front of their friends. He decided not to say anything at all, even when they got home, having almost gotten his head bit off the last time he suggested something to her. He brushed it off, figuring he must be overreacting. After all, if she was pregnant, she would know by now and she would have told him.

Lisa returned his gaze for a little while before nervously turning away. She didn't know what to think. She was internally in a state of panic, although she felt that she was masking it well, with keeping up in school and going out and everything. But she wouldn't drink. She was in denial, but she wasn't stupid. She was currently late for her cycle. And seeing as how the one she had missed the month before, had never bothered to show up, she was starting to get a little nervous. She had explained the first one into nothing, but she had no way to explain missing the second. She had been taking her pills regularly, and she shouldn't have been late, but she was. She decided it was better to be safe than sorry… although the better half of her told her she was already going to be sorry.

* * *

"Had fun?" Greg asked as Lisa walked into the bedroom.

"Yeah, I feel a little better," she said. "I'm just going to go take a shower."

She disappeared into the bathroom. She stripped and climbed into the shower. She had just returned from taking a walk figuring it would do her good. It had helped; she felt better. The past week had been a bad one also. Wednesday morning she had thrown up again, and Thursday evening she had done the same. This morning had been better, and she decided to go for a walk after her classes had finished earlier than expected. She hadn't gone to the doctor to get vitamins because she wanted to try picking up her exercise routine again to see if that would boost her energy. She would get up earlier on Monday and start jogging again. She figured the recent lack of exercise and the fact that she didn't care what she ate lately or how much of it she ate was the reason for her lack of energy…and her recent visible weight gain of seven pounds. Greg didn't seem to mind though. He was fixated on her ever increasing bust size. She turned off the shower and put on a pair of loose fittings sweats and a blue tank top.

When she stepped back into the bedroom, Greg was still sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard reading the book he was reading when she had came in from her walk.

"What are you reading?" she asked climbing in the bed next to him.

"Nothing," he said grabbing her hand and pulling her to him. She smiled as she crossed one leg over him and straddled him. They hadn't had sex in a couple of weeks and she was feeling a little better so she figured they both deserved it. He pressed his lips to hers and wasted no time in forcing his tongue into her mouth. This kiss grew more intense the longer they held each other in a lip lock, and his hands immediately rose to meet the breasts he had been dying to touch for the past week now. His fun was spoiled. He could barely grasp them before she pulled back from the kiss and knocked his hand away.

"Ouch!," she exclaimed. "That hurt. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he defended. "I didn't do anything."

She climbed off of him, obviously still a little upset about what had or hadn't just happened. He looked dumbfounded as she went back into the bathroom and slammed the door.

"I barely touched them," he yelled behind her.

She ignored him as she leaned on the counter and looked at her reflection in the mirror. 'It didn't feel like he barely touched them,' she thought to her self. She leaned back off the counter, and looked at her larger than normal breasts. She gently passed her hand over her left breast and winced at the pain before repeating the action on the right one and having the same out come. She looked back into the mirror and sighed as she leaned on the counter again. "What the hell is going on with me?" she asked her reflection, who had no reply for her. Or maybe it did and she just wouldn't let it reply. She put her elbows on the counter and leaned her head into her hands. 'I'm not pregnant,' she thought to herself. 'I can't be, not now. Everything's good now…maybe too good. Okay calm down…,' she told herself. She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. 'Let's just say I am, which I'm probably not, what am I going to do?...Well first I need to find out for sure if I am. Then if I am, I tell Greg…but what if he doesn't want a baby, I know he doesn't want kids. He's told me that, but maybe he'll change his mind…or maybe he won't. Then I'll be stuck with this kid all by myself, but he wouldn't do that to me. He's always stuck by me before…but I've never been pregnant before. I've never asked him to make an eighteen year commitment to something that is going to change his life as he knows it. But it'll be his kid, he has to take care of it…Right?... Who am I kidding, he doesn't have to do anything, and if I try to tell him he does he'll probably not do it even more so. How could I have let this happen, it wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to graduate from medical school, get married, then have kids, or get married graduate from medical school and then have kids, but never have kids first. I screwed up…my parents are going to hate me, Greg's going to leave me, and I'm going to be stuck raising this baby on my own. What am I going to do if I'm pregnant?'

She let out a small cry that encompassed fear, anger, and frustration.

"Is everything okay?" Greg asked from the other side of the door.

She sniffed and wiped some of the tears that had fallen away. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"Are you crying?"

"No," she lied quickly. "I'm not crying."

"Okay, well…can you come back out here? I can at least look at them if I can't touch them."

She let out a small laugh, it was more of a desperate attempt to get her mind off of her problems at the time than a real feeling of humor. "Shut up and go away."

"Okay," he said. "I'm sorry, if I …hurt anything."

"You didn't hurt me," she told him. "And I'm not mad at you, so you don't have to apologize."

"Well I'll be down stairs if you need anything," he told her.

She sat on the bathroom floor a few more minutes before pulling herself up and crawling into the bed. She fell asleep, more from emotional exhaustion rather than physical exhaustion.

* * *

She had been struggling with taking the test for a little over a week now. She figured she should just suck it up and take it. It was better to get it over with and deal with it, so she could start planning for the arrival of the baby…if she was pregnant. She was still in denial and wouldn't accept the news until she found out for sure. Luckily, her and Donna had gotten close and she asked the girl to swipe her a pregnancy test from the OB/GYN supply closet. The girl had promised not to tell Greg anything, and wished her luck after she had handed it over to her that evening. It was Christmas Eve, and she was currently on her way home to lock herself in the bathroom, force herself to pee, and then wait five minutes for the results that could possibly alter her future.  
000000000000000000000000000000000000000

He had just gotten off from work, it was a little late and it was Christmas Eve, but that was the price he paid for not having to go in on Christmas day. He saw her backpack on the sofa and started up the stairs towards their bedroom.

"Lise," he called out to her, "you here?"

It was silent for a while, before he heard her voice coming from the bedroom. "In here."

"Hey," he said as he walked into the bedroom. He stopped when he saw that she had been crying. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked concerned.

"Nothing's wrong," she told him. "I'm just tired."

"Are you sure?" he asked placing his hands on her shoulder. "Because if you-,"

"Greg," she said cutting him off. "I'm just a little stressed, and I'm tired. I just need to take a nap and I'll be fine."

He looked at her not believing her, but didn't want to push her to talk about it since she had been extremely sensitive the past few weeks.

"Okay, you rest," he said before placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to take a shower and get out of these scrubs."

She smiled at him and went over to the bed. He dropped his back pack at the foot of the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. He showered and was getting dressed when he noticed something in the trash bin. He pulled his shirt over his head and leaned down to get a closer look at the little white box. He pulled it out and saw that it was a positive pregnancy test, one just like the hospital used. He panicked a little, and hoped that Lori or one of the other girls she hung out with had stopped by for a little support while he was at work. Given the way she had been acting and everything that had happened in the past few weeks, he knew deep down that that wasn't the case. He didn't want to be a dad, he didn't really think he would be good at it, but he had got thrown into the situation and there was no way out. He couldn't abandon her, not now. She needed him more than ever, though she probably would have been better off with someone else, someone less like him. He had to push that thought to the back of his mind. It didn't take him long to calm down since he had suspected it for a few weeks now. He took one last deep breath and blew it out before he opened the door and walked out of the bathroom.

He walked over to her side of the bed and squatted down so he was face to face with her. He shook her gently and called her name.

"Hmm?" she said groggily, as she opened her eyes.

"Baby, who's is this?" he asked her and held up the little white box. "Is this yours?"

Her eyes went from his face to the box in his hand then quickly back to his face as she tried to read his expression. A look of fear registered on her face, giving him his answer. She was carrying his baby. He was going to be a father. He was scared, but he could tell she was even more scared. She needed him to be strong for her, and he didn't want to let her down. He had to try to be what she needed him to be, what their baby needed him to be.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I," she started but stopped to wipe away a few tears that were starting to fall. She regained her composure as he rubbed her side, still looking at her. "I just found out today. I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how. I didn't know if you wanted a baby or not." She stopped as the tears started to flow.

"Don't cry. What are you crying for?" he asked as he climbed in the bed behind her and rolled her to her other side to face him. He pulled her closer to him letting her cry into his chest. "Of course I want our baby."

She continued to cry, more now of joy rather than fear. He held her a little while longer, figuring that she just needed to cry to get it out of her system, as she seemed to need to do a lot lately.

"How am I going to finish school?" she asked still crying a little.

"Lisa you'll finish," he reassured her. "I'm going to be finished with my residency in a few years and the real money will start to kick in, so money won't be a problem. You can talk to the people at the school and they'll work something out with you, I'm sure. They have a counselor just for these types of situations."

He did only have a year and a half left of residency, which would only be a year by the time the baby arrived, he suspected. He would be working far less hours after that and making far more money. He held her a little while longer and her tears started to subside. She felt one of his hands on her stomach.

"God this kid is going to be bad ass," he said with a small chuckle.

She started laughing a little as she pulled her head away from his chest to look up at his face that bared a huge grin. She smiled at him.

"We still have to tell my parents," she informed him.

He leaned his head back and laughed a little.

"Your Dad is going to be so pissed," he told her. "I love you so much, we have just royally screwed your parents."

She punched him in the stomach, making him move his hand from her stomach to his.

"Oww," he said as he looked down at her. "What'd you do that for?"  
She just looked at him with a serious expression on her face.  
"Of course that's just one of the perks," he told her, knowing why she had hit him.

He stared into her eyes for a little while before he spoke again. "I love you Lise," he told her, bringing a smile back to her face.

"I love you too," she replied as he wrapped his arms around her.

"How far along?" he asked.

"Ten and a half weeks," she told him. "I think. I'll make a doctor's appointment next week."

They laid in each others' arms for hours, talking about the soon to be change in their lives, what it was going to be like, what the gender of the baby would be, and all the stuff that soon to be first time parents would talk about, before drifting into a peaceful sleep in each others arms.


	24. Chapter 23

Greg was in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of orange juice when he looked over at Lisa. She was in her last week of Christmas break, and she had called an OB/GYN at the hospital and made an appointment for the next day. She had seemed a little worried ever since they had found out for sure that she was pregnant. He watched as her mind seemed to drift away from the notes in front of her and she stared off into space for a little while. A solemn look came to her face and she put her hand on her stomach. He continued to watch her as she passed her hand over her stomach. He put the orange juice back in the refrigerator and walked over to the sofa. She didn't even notice when he sat down beside her.

"Something wrong?" he asked her, making her look up at him.

She stared at him for a moment before forcing a smile. "No, nothing's wrong."She turned back to the pages and notes in front of her.

"No," he told her. "Something is wrong and you're not telling me."

"Why do you think something's wrong?"

"Because I know you," he told her. "You've been quiet for the last few days and you just told me that nothing's wrong, and I could tell you were lying when you said it."

She stared at him, and he saw the tears that welled up in her eyes before she turned away. "Well I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong," he said as a few silent tears fell from her eyes.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm in med school," she told him. "I have three more years to go. I have just enough money in my bank account to pay my tuition for the next three years and take care of myself, nothing extra. You are making fifty thousand a year before taxes. Between the two of us we have money left over after we get everything we need, but not enough to take care of a baby."

"Well my pay is going to increase when…," he started, but she cut him off.

"Yeah, I know," she said getting up from the sofa. She began pacing around the living room. "But what will we do the last year of your residency. From what I'm calculating this baby is going to be here sometime this summer, you won't finish your residency until the summer after."

"So…you're saying you don't want the baby?"

"Of course I want the baby," she said.

"Well what are you saying then?"

"I just don't know if we are going to be able to give it everything it needs. I just wo…," she stopped and looked at him with questioning eyes. "Can we do this?"

"Well we kinda already did do it," he said with a little humor in his tone, but she wasn't laughing. She pressed her hands to her eyes and blew out a breath. He got off of the couch and wrapped his arms around her. "We're just going to have to try," he told her. "Take it a step at a time, and everything will work itself out. And hopefully we won't screw this kid up in the process."

He hoped the words sounded more confident to her ears then they were sounding in his head. He didn't know how they were going to pull this off. He did have some money saved up that she didn't know about. He had learned to save money for a rainy day ever since he was little. He was convinced that one day he would be forced to run away just to get away from his father. With the jobs he had worked as an undergrad, he had managed to store a decent amount of money. Maybe not enough that the kid would be born with a silver spoon in its mouth, but enough to probably get by until he actually started making more money.

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "I'll take care of it. Everything will be fine. Just worry about going clothes shopping soon, because people are going to think you're crazy if you go out wearing my clothes."

She pushed him away and laughed a little bit as she looked down at the over sized sweats and t-shirt she had on.

"Shut up," she told him. "Mine don't quite fit anymore."

She had gained a little weight, all of it which wasn't noticeable to the naked eye. But she had been ignoring the fact that her clothes had been growing increasingly tighter. Her baby bump hadn't started showing yet, but she couldn't button her jeans without a little struggle and all of her t-shirts where fitting a little snug on her tummy.

"When are you going to tell your parents?" he asked her.

"When are you going to tell yours?" she returned.

"After you tell yours," he said with a smile. He didn't really plan on telling his dad, but he knew his mother would probably beat him senseless if he didn't tell her about her soon to be grandchild.

* * *

"I had my assistant page him, he should be here in a few minutes, " Dr. Grey said.

Lisa smiled. They had finished the first part of the exam, the only thing left was the ultrasound. Luckily she was far enough along when she found out that they wouldn't have to wait to see something that actually resembled a baby on the ultrasound. She was currently in the doctor's office waiting for Greg to show up. It figures he would be late for something like this.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," Dr. Grey started, "but how did such a nice girl like you get tied up with that lunatic."

"You helped this lunatic," Greg told him as he walked into the room, "and she's not that nice. You should see some of the things she does. That's why we're here now and I didn't have to tie her up."

"Greg!," Lisa scolded him as Dr. Grey started laughing.

"Relax," Greg said after scooping another spoonful of yogurt into his mouth. "It's not like the old coot wasn't thinking it himself."

"I'm so sorry," Lisa apologized.

"That's okay darling. I've heard a lot worst coming out of this one's mouth trust me," Dr. Grey told her.

Greg and the man exchanged smiles before Greg extended his hand. "Dennis," he started, "I haven't seen you around in a couple of weeks. I guess you've been hiding out under sheets with women young enough to be your daughters."

"Well that is my job," the man said shaking his hand.

Dr. Grey was an older, balding man. Greg had met him before he came to Michigan and had suggested him for her prenatal care. Apparently the two were pretty close and Dr. Grey had something to do with Greg getting accepted back into medical school. He owed his career to the man. Lisa had agreed since Greg had said that he was the best prenatal care doctor at the hospital.

"Ready to see your baby?" the doctor asked.

Lisa took a deep breath and smiled, "Yeah." She was nervous, but more anxious than anything to see the little being growing inside of her. She figured she might as well get a visual of it, if she was going to be carrying it around for the next few months.

Dr. Grey turned to the counter to get the gel and pulled the ultrasound machine closer as Lisa turned to Greg, who was now sitting in the chair next to the table she was lying on.

"Why are you late?"

"Patient," he said placing another spoonful of yogurt into his mouth. "Steven took over so I'm pretty sure he'll be dead by the time I get back," he said jokingly. He knew that Steven was actually a pretty good doctor, no matter how much he said otherwise.

Lisa ignored his last comment, her attention having already changed focus to the cup of yogurt in his hands. She had just recently starting being able to keep her food down again, and her appetite had come back full throttle. "What flavor is that?" she asked him.

"Strawberry," he said extending a spoonful towards her mouth, knowing she didn't really care what flavor it was. She wanted some. She opened her mouth and he placed the spoon in and she licked of its contents. She swallowed and was about to ask for more, but jumped a little instead when she felt the doctor raise up her shirt and the cold gel hit her stomach.

"Sorry," he said with a smile. "You'll get used to it." He spread the gel and took the wand and placed it on her stomach. He moved it around slowly.

"Boy, the reception in there is pretty bad," Greg said.

"Shut up," she told him refusing to take her eyes off of the screen. They both watched as the doctor continued to move the wand around.

"You can't find the little parasite?" Greg piped up.

This time Lisa shot him a mean glare, "It's not a parasite."

"Oh really," he said. "It lives inside you, it makes you sick, and it steals your food and your energy."

"It's a baby. That's what it's supposed to do."

"And so is a parasite," he told her. "I don't see how you can separate the two."

"Did your mother ever teach you that if you can't say anything nice, you shouldn't say anything at all?"

"I never really listened to my mother," he said in a matter of fact tone.

She rolled her eyes at him and turned her attention back to the screen, wanting to see the second the baby popped up on the screen. The doctor slid the wand a little to the right and a black clearing was seen on the screen with a little gray thing in the middle. A smile immediately came to both of their faces.

"Look at the little big head," Greg said. Lisa ignored him, she was too in awe at the picture on the screen as tears came to her eyes.

"Oh my god," she said putting her hand up to her mouth. She had known that she was pregnant, but the ultrasound made it just that much more real to her. If she had any doubts before, they were now removed as she now knew that she would do anything for this baby, their baby.

Dr. Grey turned up the sound on the Doppler and the sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the room. Lisa let out a small laugh of astonishment as she turned to Greg. His grin had widened and he gave her hand which he was now holding a reassuring squeeze.

Even Dr. Grey had to laugh at their reactions. It was always exciting to see the reaction of new parents the first time they saw their baby and heard its heartbeat. "Congratulations," he said. "You're twelve weeks pregnant. Only an estimated twenty-eight weeks to go…give or take a few weeks."

He gave them a few more minutes to gawk at the baby and listen to its heartbeat. He pressed a button to capture a still image and the printer hooked up to the machine came to life. He pulled the wand away and turned the machine off after the picture had been printed. He handed Lisa some napkins to clean the gel off of her stomach and grabbed the two pictures that he had printed from the printer and handed one to each of them. "Now you both can carry one around with you," he told them, then turned his attention back to Lisa.

"Everything looks good and the baby looks healthy so you can schedule an appointment with my assistant for next month for a routine visit. And if you want to, we can find out the gender of the baby then," he told her as he pulled out a prescription pad from the pocket of his lab coat. He scribbled something on it and handed her the prescription for prenatal vitamins.

"See," Greg said looking up from the picture for the first time, "it wasn't such a stupid question after all."

She rolled her eyes at him playfully, before turning her attention back to the picture in her hand.

* * *

"Stop being a six year old and call them already," Greg told her as he sat down next to her on the couch. She just rolled her eyes at him and stared at the phone in her hands. It was New Year's Day and Lisa had been struggling with the idea of calling her parents and telling them she was pregnant. She didn't really plan on telling her dad. She would tell her mom and then her mom would tell him. They weren't really back on good terms yet, and she didn't want to get into it with him. She suddenly got an idea. She pressed the talk button and started dialing. The phone rung a few times before she heard someone pick up on the other end.

"Hello?" the voice said.

"Jenn?"

"Oh hey Lise," her sister said. "What's up?"

"Well I've got something to tell you, but I kinda wanted to tell you and mom at the same time," she said.

"Okay," Jenn said unsure, "but is it bad, because I really don't want to hear any bad news right now."

"No, no," she reassured her. "It's not bad." She really didn't know if her sister or her mother would classify it as bad or good. "Hold on."

She clicked over and started dialing her parents' house. She was relieved when her mother picked up because she wouldn't have to deal with her father.

"Mom?"

"Yeah," her mother said instantly picking up on her oldest daughter's voice.

"I've got something I need to tell you, but Jenn's on the other line so hold on." She clicked over and made sure that she had them both on the line now.

"Mom is Dad home?"

"No honey, he's at work," she told her.

"Good, because I didn't want him to be there when I told you."

"So what is it?" Jennifer asked eagerly. "Tell us already. I can't take it anymore."

Lisa decided to go the easy way with it and just blurt it out. "I'm pregnant," she said screwing up her face as a preparation for any negative reaction they might have. To her surprise she got two excited squeals from both lines.

"I take it I'm not needed for moral support anymore," Greg said having heard them as he got up off the sofa to go get him something to eat.

"Are you serious?" Jennifer asked, but didn't give her time to answer. "I'm so excited. I'm going to be an Aunt. Ben!"

Lisa heard as her sister started holding a side conversation with her fiancé as her mother started talking now.

"Oh my baby, I'm so happy for you. I'm so happy for myself, I'm so excited, my first grandchild. Oh, I'm too young to be and grandmother. But I'm just so happy," she heard her mother say in tears.

"Mom stop crying," she said with a laugh, relieved that her sister and at least one of her parents approved of the idea.

"Ben says congrats," Jennifer said getting back to their conversation.

"How far along are you, Lisa?" her mother said trying to sound like she wasn't crying anymore.

"Three months," she said.

"And you're just telling us?" Jennifer said sounding a little offended, but getting over it quickly. "Are you showing yet?"

Lisa looked down at the little bump that was just starting to protrude. "A little bit, yeah."

"Oh my God, we have to go maternity clothes shopping," Jennifer said. "Mom we have to go to Baltimore to help her buy maternity clothes."

"No, you real…," Lisa tried, but to no avail. She had already brought a few things for when school started, but she would definitely need more.

"You're right," her mother said. "Lisa, when would be a good time for you."

She didn't want to burst their bubbles so she looked at the calendar she had in front of her. "How about in four weeks. I'll be finished with my second block tests that weekend so I won't have to study."

They agreed and carried on the conversation for another hour talking about everything that had anything to do with the baby.

* * *

Lisa sat twiddling her thumbs as she looked at the woman who sat across the desk from her. School had just started up again and she had made it a priority to go talk to one of the counselors in the student help office. She was surprised to see that they had a couple of counselors just for family planning while in school. Ms. Gwen, as the older woman had told her to call her, was looking over her class schedule for the end of that school year and the beginning of the next and the papers that Lisa had gotten from Dr. Grey. She was trying to see if she would have to take a year off in order to have the baby. She really didn't want to have to take any time off. The woman finished looking at the papers and took her glasses off. Lisa took a deep breath as she looked up at her and began speaking.

"Honestly Lisa," she started, "as long as you can manage school and taking care of this baby once it gets here, I don't see any reason why you would have to take time off."

She let out the breath and a smile came to her face.

"Don't get too happy," the woman said making her face drop. "Just because you managed to get pregnant at seemingly the perfect time, it doesn't mean you're out of the woods yet. You are lucky that you are going to be having this baby this summer. If you were in your second year, you would definitely have to take time off. When this baby gets here, you are still going to have to manage your school work and being what you deem an acceptable mother. Do you think you can manage that?"

"I've never taken care of a baby before," she started, "but I want to do this, so I'll just have to find a way to manage it…I can do it," she said more to convince herself than the woman.

Gwen smiled at her. "I think you can do it too. You're an exceptional student, and if at anytime you feel overwhelmed or anything, please come back and talk to me so we can see if we can work something out."

"Thanks," she said as the woman handed her the papers back. She grabbed her back pack off of the floor and stood up to leave.

"And Lisa one more thing," she said, making Lisa turn around to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Smile," she told her. "You're healthy and your baby's healthy…you're going to be a mother."

A smile came to her face and she laughed a little bit. "Yeah…I guess I am."


	25. Chapter 24

"Here," she said handing him the phone. "I told my mom three weeks ago, call her."

He looked at her and reluctantly took the phone. It's not that he didn't want to tell his mother or he was scared or anything like that. It's not like he was the one pregnant. He just didn't want her to get on the subject of his dad. He loved his mom and would have loved to visit and talk to her more, but his father always seemed to stand in the way of that. He started dialing and put the phone up to his ear.

"If she starts talking about her husband, I'm going to hang up," he told Lisa as the phone continued to ring. She picked up after the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, mom."

"Gregory?" she started. "What a pleasant surprise. Finally, you called me. I didn't have to call you."

"I call sometimes mom," he said feeling a little guilty.

"You do not," she said. He looked at Lisa who was sitting next to him smiling, being able to hear both sides of the conversation. "I always have to call you. Even then, I could never get you. I have to leave messages and stalk you over the phone for months before I get you to return my calls."

"Well I've been kinda busy mom," he told her.

"Too busy to call your own mother?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't come up with a viable excuse. "You're right mom. I should try to call more."

"Well since you've called now I know you have something to tell me. I hope nothing's wrong," she said sounding a little worried.

"Nothing's wrong, but I did call to tell you something," he said with a smile, knowing his mother would get the ultimate kick out of what he was about to say.

"Well?" she asked sounding eager.

"Lisa's pregnant."

She gasped and then he heard her voice coming over the speaker. "Gregory, are you pulling my leg?" Her son had pulled enough tricks on her for her to ask that question.

"No mom," he said laughing a little. "She really is pregnant."

"Oh my goodness, I'm going to be and Grandma," she said. The phone grew quiet for a moment, before she started again. "When? When is the baby due?"

"Julyish," he said.

"Julyish? Well son you should know at least when the baby's due?"

"She probably won't go in on her due date anyway so the only thing that really matters is the month."

"Well how many months is she right now?" she asked a little too excited to count it out herself.

"Babe how many month's?" he asked, not really keeping up with it. He didn't really believe in keeping up with the weeks, finding it would make him more anxious. He figured he would eye it, and the closer she got to looking like she was going to pop, he would know she was that much closer to giving birth.

"Three months and three weeks," Blythe heard Lisa say.

"Almost four months," she said. "And you're just calling me?"

"We just found out three weeks ago," he tried.

"Well why didn't you tell me three weeks ago?"

"Uhmm, Forgot?"

"I can't believe you," she said. "Well, what is she having?"

"Don't know."

"Well when are you going to find out?"

"Don't know."

"You don't know anything do you?" she said. "Put Lisa on the phone."

He handed the phone to her. She took it with a smile and instantly picked up an all baby conversation with Blythe.

* * *

"So what are we going to do?" she asked him. They were sitting on the sofa watching television. "Do you wanna find out the sex or not?"

"Yeah, I think we should," he told her.

"Why?" she asked sounding like that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I kinda wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well then wait until the baby's born," he told her.

"But you wanna know," she said. "I don't want to keep you from knowing, if you wanna know."

"Well I don't want to spoil the surprise for you if you don't want to know."

She looked at him and thought about it for a while, before speaking. "Well it would be useful to know, so we could know how to decorate the nursery."

"It's a baby," he said, "as far as it knows it's androgynous. It doesn't have a sexual identity. As long as there's no pink, I'm fine with it."

"But I'll know," she argued.

"Then find out the sex at the next doctor's appointment." He was going to go with whatever she wanted on this. He had learned long ago not to argue with 'the crazy lady', though he never let her hear him call her that.

"But I want it to be a surprise," she said, mostly arguing with herself.

"Well it's not like you have to find out next weekend," he told her. "Take time to decide and if you want to know, call Dr. Grey and have him tell you."

She thought about it before turning her head to place a kiss on his lips. "You're right…now what are we going to do about money? I was thinking about taking out some of the loans that I was offered from the school…," she started.

"No, you don't need to take out any loans," he told her.

"Why not?"

"Because," he started, "you were planning on graduating from med school without any loans. I told you I'll take care of it."

The truth was that he didn't want her to feel like she had to financially sacrifice anything for the baby. So far, with the money she had conned from her dad, she had managed to not accumulate any debt, which is a huge accomplishment for a medical student. He had always been taught that it was a man's job to provide financially for his family, the only thing his father had taught him that he could agree with. The man was the biggest asshole he had ever known, but he had always provided financially for him and his mother. He felt like if he failed in that area that he would be less of a father than his dad was, and he wasn't willing to let that happen.

"Well I can ask my dad for the money he had left in my account and…," he cut her off before she could even finish the sentence.

"No," he told her in a firm voice. "There's no way we're asking your father or anyone for any money."

He definitely was not going to ask for handouts, from anyone, especially her father. He was sure that the disdain he had for the man was mutual. He was never one to depend on people or to let it be known that he depended on them, and he definitely was not about to start now. He had too much pride for that.

"Then how are we going to get money for everything we need," she asked getting a little annoyed, by his male ego.

"I told you I'll take care of it."

* * *

"Be nice," Lisa said as she walked to answer the door.

"I'm always nice," he told her. She gave him a look that said 'yeah right' and proceeded to open the door.

A smile came to her face as her mother and her sister came in and hugged her before going straight to her stomach that was now showing through her clothes.

"Oh my goodness, look at you," her sister said. "You're huge."

Her mother looked at her reassuringly after she saw her facial expression change at her sister's comment. "You just have a little bump. You're not that big," she said. "At least not as big as you're going to get."

"Well thanks a lot," she said disappointed at her mother's failed attempt at reassurance.

"Oh honey, we're just teasing," Anne said, as she pulled her into another hug.

The three of them walked into the living room to find Greg stuffing things into his backpack. She was happy that she didn't have to worry about any arguing since her dad hadn't come down. She knew that Jenn didn't have anything against Greg. And her mother had told her the same, although she would never approve of him in front of her father.

"Hey Greg," Jenn said. "You coming shopping with us?"

"Really wish I could," he said with mock sincerity, making the three of them roll their eyes. "But I'm on call this weekend."

He walked over and gave Lisa a quick peck on the lips before walking towards the door. He stopped then turned around. "Wait a minute…I can't smell the male chauvinism in the air. Where's papa bear?"

"He stayed home," Anne said.

"You mean to tell me that he finds out she's pregnant and we don't get a call or a visit?" he said. "Is he still unconscious from the heart attack he had?"

"Actually, he doesn't know," Anne said.

Lisa's eyes grew wide. She had told her mother to tell her father, just so she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of doing it. She didn't want to have to hear his ranting and raving about her quitting school, and about his obsessive dislike of Greg.

"Looks like somebody's got some 'splanin' to do," he said before leaving out of the door, wanting to have no part of the discussion that was about to occur.

"Mom!," Lisa yelled. "I thought you said you were going to tell him."

"I was," her mother said nervously, "but I thought it would be better if you tell him."

"How would that be better?"

"You two need to talk. You should call him."

"No better time than now," Jenn said handing her the phone.

She frowned at her sister, before taking the phone and beginning to dial. "Hello, Dad?"

"Lisa?"

"Yeah it's me," she said.

"Well what is it sweetie? Did your mother and sister get there okay?"

"Yeah, they're here," she told him. "I was calling because there's something I needed to tell you."

"Well what is it?"

"Promise me you won't get mad."

"Will it really matter to you if I get mad or not?" he asked her. "Besides, I'm sure it can't be anything worst than you moving to Baltimore to go to school and live with that asshole. So, what is it?"

She was silent for a while as she looked up at her mother and sister who were seated on either side of her. "Daddy, I'm pregnant."

"Let me guess, Greg's the father."

"Well yeah. He is my boyfriend and I am living with him," she told him.

"Well I can't say that I like the guy, but at least you're finally realizing what you should be doing with your life," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're having a baby, I assume you two are going to get married, although I would rather have had you get married before you had the baby. I only assume that you're going to quit school to take care of your family."

"Dad, I'm not quitting school," she informed him. She didn't say anything about the getting married part, that being an expectation of her own. She didn't expect him to marry her because of the baby, but even before the baby, she had hoped that they would get married someday.

"Lisa how are you going to go to school and raise a baby?" he asked her. "I don't know if you know it or not, but babies require a lot of your time."

"I know that," she told him, "but I'm not going to be the only one raising the baby. Greg will…," he cut her off.

"Isn't Greg working?"

"Yeah but,…" again he didn't let her finish.

"Well then who's going to take care of the baby when he's at the hospital. I'm sure he works some pretty odd hours."

"We'll put the baby in day care until either he gets off from work or I get out of classes. I'm never in classes after five," she explained.

"Oh I see," he said condescendingly. "So, you're going to let someone else raise your child."

"No Dad, I'm not," she told him. "I can go to school and raise my own child."

"Hmph," he said, making her blood boil. "Well I guess we'll see if you can once the baby is born. I think you'll change your mind when you see how much work it is. I only hope you would choose the baby over your career."

"I would never…," she stopped herself, refusing to let herself be reduced to explaining her motives to him. "Okay daddy, I'll talk to you later, mom and Jenn are waiting on me to go shopping."

She barely heard him whisper his goodbyes, before she had hung up the phone. They all sat in silence, them waiting on her to cry, but her refusing to cry no matter how bad her hormones were trying to make her.

"Let's go shopping," Jenn said trying to lighten the mood. "It always makes me feel better."

* * *

"Could you get up and lower the air conditioner," Lisa asked Greg after having wakened him. She was lying on top of the covers while he was wrapped up tight in them. She was now five and a half months and obviously pregnant as her round stomach showed through her clothing.

"Lower it?" he asked surprised. "It already feels like the north pole in here, why do you want me to lower it."

"I'm hot," she told him.

"How can you be hot? If we cover the floors with water we can go ice skating."

"Please," she told him. "If I get up I won't be able to get comfortable again, and it'll take me forever to fall asleep. Then…,"

"Okay, I'm going," he said cutting her off. He threw the blanket off of him and got up to go lower the air conditioner.

He rubbed his arms, trying to warm them as he walked back into the bed room. He got in the bed and rolled himself back up in the covers before trying to go back to sleep. He was almost there, when he heard her whisper his name again.

"Hmm?" he answered her groggily, with his eyes still closed.

"Is there any more pudding left?

"No, someone ate it all," he said. It grew quiet for a while and he thought he was dozing off until her heard her speak again.

"Can you run to the store and get me some?"

"You have got to be kidding me," he said rolling over on his back and putting his hand on his forehead. He had become all too familiar with these late night cravings, and although it didn't happen too often, it happened often enough. He was hoping he could have avoided it tonight though.

"Please," she added.

"I thought you were tired," he tried.

"I am, but I'm also hungry."

"Well then go to sleep, get some rest and we can get pudding in the morning."

"But I want it now. I can't wait until morning…Baby?"

He didn't answer her, hoping she would think he had fallen back asleep.

"I said please," she added. He still didn't answer.

After not hearing her for a while, he opened his eyes to see if she had given up. Instead he found her staring at him with a look in her eyes that scared him.

"Fine," he said throwing the blankets off of him again. "I'm going." Afraid to go back to sleep without pudding in the house, he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans, before grabbing his wallet and car keys off of the nightstand. He was about to walk out of the door when she called out to him.

"Oh and bring some pickles back, I think we're out." He stared at her with a look of discuss, knowing she had plan on eating the pickles with the pudding.

"What?"

"That doesn't even go together," he told her. Not that anything she ever sent him to get anymore really did.

"I don't care if it doesn't go," she told him. "It's what I feel like eating."

He gave her a look that said 'whatever you say' and walked out of the door.

"Thanks baby," she called out after him.

"Yeah, yeah," he said not really wanting to hear it.  
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

She got up out of the bed when she heard the telephone ring. Greg had already been gone fifteen minutes, she wondered what was taking him so long.

"Hello?"

"They don't have any pudding at any of the near-by convenient stores. Do you want something else?"

"No, I want pudding?"

"They have Jello," he offered.

"I don't want Jello, if I wanted Jello I would have said 'Greg, could you go to the store and get me some Jello,'" she said in a not so pleasant tone.

He bit his tongue to keep from saying something that he would regret. "Well what do you want me to do?" he asked her letting some of his anger show in his voice. "There's no pudding in Baltimore. I can't make it appear out of thin air."

"Did you try any of the convenient stores outside of Baltimore?"

"Noo," he said through clenched teeth. "I only tried the ones within reasonable driving distance at three thirty in the morning."

"Well try the ones in Columbia or D.C.," she told him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to gather himself. He let it out slowly and opened his eyes. "Okay babe, I'll see you when I get home." He hung up the phone and cursed under his breath. He went out in search of more open stores that might have had pudding. She must have been out of her mind if she though he was going to go to D.C. ..._again_.  
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He walked into the living room with the bag in his hand and just stared at her as she sat on the Lay-Z-Boy chair. She got up and walked over to him. He had been gone over an hour.

"Baby where have you been," she said taking the bag from him. "I was starting to get worried."

"I was at the store," he said dryly. "Looking for pudding. At four o'clock in the morning."

"Thank you," she said with a smile, and giving him a peck on the lips.  
He just rolled his eyes at her as she went into the kitchen.

He sat down on the sofa as she went into the kitchen to add milk to the instant pudding. He heard the mixer come to life and decided to turn on the television after not being able to fall asleep. He heard the mixer turn off after a few minutes and before long, she joined him on the couch with a huge bowl of pudding, two spoons, and the jar of pickles he had brought back.

"Want some," she asked handing him the spoon.

"Might as well," he told her, still a little upset. "After all I'm the one that hunted it down."

He dug into the bowl as she popped the pickle jar open. She offered him one and he declined. She bit into one before dipping her spoon into the chocolate pudding. They sat and watched television for a few minutes.

"Ooh," she said putting her hand on her stomach.

"What's the matter?" he asked her, concern taking the place of his anger. He knew that it was way too soon for her to be having any contractions, and if she was, they were in big trouble. "Is it the baby?"

She didn't move and stayed quiet until she felt it again. A smile came to her face and her eyes became teary. He just looked at her, the tears and the smile confusing him. She took his hand and placed on her stomach and held it there. He didn't move and just waited for what was obviously supposed to happen. Then he felt it, and a smile came to his face. It was the first time she had felt the baby kick, well the first unmistakable time, and the first time he had been able to feel it. She laughed a little bit.

"It's never done this before," she told him. "Well not this hard. I think it's trying to say thank you for the pudding and the pickles." She said knowing he was upset with her. He snorted before he leaned in to kiss her. He quickly pulled away as he tasted the pickles on her lips, and it clashed with the pudding he had been eating.

"Uh, baby," he said getting up to get a glass of water. "You taste like pickles."

"What?" she called behind him. "It's not that bad."


	26. Chapter 25

Lisa stood in the front of the hospital waiting on Greg. She was about to go in for her monthly check up. She was now six and half months pregnant and looking every bit of it. Today was a big day. She had finally decided to find out the gender of the baby. She figured it would be best since she was going to start decorating the nursery soon and buying things for the baby. She didn't want to buy anything pink then have to bring it back to the store if it turned out to be a boy, though Greg would rather her not buy anything pink at all. She looked down the hall to the left of her and turned her head when she saw Paul coming. She had been mildly avoiding him, and had only seen him when they would go out for dinner with a group of their friends. She hoped he would pass by without noticing her, but that hope was dashed when she heard him call her name.

"Lisa?"

She turned around with a forced, believable smile on her face. "Paul…hey."

"I thought that was you," he said with a smile. His eyes quickly lowered to her stomach. "How far along are you again?"

"Six and half months," she told him.

"I always ask Greg," he told her, "but he never seems to know. So how have you been?"

"I've been fine," she told him, "just trying to deal with the many perks of being pregnant."

"Well you carry it well," he told her. "You still look beautiful."

"Umm, thanks Paul," she said nervously.

"So you know what you're having?"

"Finding out today," she told him.

"Well let me know, I'll be sure to get a gift for the baby," he told her.

"I'll do that," she said trying to end the conversation. He looked at her for a minute and just smiled before he started talking again. "You know, that should be my kid you're carrying."

She just looked at him, not really sure what to say. "But I guess things don't always work out the way you want them to."

"Paul," she started, not really sure if it was safe to say what she was about to say. She figured he wouldn't try anything with the other people walking around the hospital, "I'm with Greg. I'm in love with him."

"I know Lisa," he said reluctantly. "You two take care," he said with a smile before he walked away.

She just looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed, thinking about how weird that interaction had been. She looked at her watch after he had disappeared around the corner. Her appointment was in five minutes, and she didn't see Greg anywhere. She waited around a few more minutes, before she felt someone snake their arms around her waist. She turned around thinking Paul may have come back, but it was Greg.

"Better get going if we don't want to be late," he said.

"Yeah, because that would totally be my fault if we are," she said sarcastically.

"Oh don't be so hard on yourself. You can't waddle that fast," he said making her roll her eyes at him.  
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"Well everything still looks good," Dr. Grey told them as they looked at the ultrasound. "Everything seems to be on track. The baby seems to weigh about two and a half pounds, but that'll probably triple over the next two and a half months. Then you'll have a bouncing baby…," he stopped teasing them.

"A baby what?" Greg said being the least patient of the two of them.

"Eager are we?" Dr. Grey asked with a smile. He then turned to Lisa. "Let's not keep you waiting any longer. You're going to have a girl."

A smile came to his face. He didn't really care what they were having, but knowing gave him a funny feeling. Now he sort of knew what to expect, a little bit, but not really. He was just happy to find out that he was going to have a daughter.

"Here we go again," Greg said grabbing a few napkins off of the counter and handing them to Lisa. She took them and dabbed away the tears that had come to her eyes.

"Shut up," she told him. "And you owe me twenty-five bucks."

Dr. Grey started laughing, "Well I can honestly say that this is the first time I've had parents bet on the sex of their baby.I'm glad you won Lisa."

"Shut up old man," Greg said playfully. "I didn't lose much, I'll just take it out of your co-pay."

Dr. Grey just laughed at him as they left the room.

* * *

Lisa and Greg were walking around the baby furniture store trying to pick out a crib. The had already picked out a white dresser/changing table with two drawers and three little cubby holes under the changing table and a matching armoire with a door on one half and two small drawers and two more cubby holes on the other side. She had decided that she would paint the nursery yellow, and was happy that she had never bothered to furnish the extra room for herself.

"I'll be right back, I have to pee," she said heading off towards the bathroom. He continued looking around, not really knowing what to pick, or rather knowing his opinion didn't really matter, since the baby was a girl and he knew nothing about girls, and Lisa had made decorating the nursery her own personal project. It was a few minutes before she came back with a huge smile on her face.

"I found the perfect crib," she told him excitedly, as she started to walk off in another direction, motioning for him to follow. He followed her until she stopped next to a white, round crib. He walked over and examined it. It was a nice crib…until he saw the price tag.

"Whoa, Lise, did you see the price on this thing?"

She walked around and looked at the price. "It's not that expensive."

"For us it is," he told her.

"Well we'll just have to find some way to pay for it."

"Baby…," he said knowing he was in for an argument, "we can't afford this. There are plenty of other cribs in here that…,"

"I want this crib," she told him. "This is my first baby and I want this crib for her."

"Well this is my first baby too, and I say we can't afford it."

"If you'd just let me call my dad and ask him…,"

"What? You think he'd give you the money? You had to take from him what you've got now."

"You don't know if he'd give it to me or not."

"Well we're not going to find out because we're not asking him for any money. This is our kid, and we're going to take care of it the best way we can, which would be pretty well if you'd just pick a more reasonably priced crib."

She just stared at him as tears started to come to her eyes. He was happy no one was in that area of the store to hear them arguing because he was pretty sure he would have gotten beaten by a mob of pregnant women. She didn't even bother answering him before turning and leaving the store. He followed her and when he got to the parking lot, she was already sitting in the passenger seat of the car.

She wiped away her tears not wanting him to see her cry, but they just kept coming. She was feeling conflicting emotions. On one hand, she felt like she deserved to get the crib since it was her first baby. Everyone went all out for their first kid, that way they could save everything for the ones that followed. But on the other hand, she knew that they weren't in a financial situation to go all out, and she felt guilty for lashing out at him. He was right, she just really wanted that crib and her hormones wouldn't let her get over it.

He walked to the driver's side and got in. He was quiet for a few moments before he turned to look at her.

"Do you wanna go look somewhere else?"

"No," she said, "take me home."

He started towards their place, and they didn't speak for the rest of the drive home. Usually he would try to say something to break the tension in the air, but he was feeling a little disappointed in himself. He felt like he was letting her down.

When they got home, he asked her if she was okay. She assured him that she was and said she was tired, then went upstairs to take a nap. He moped around the house for the next few hours thinking about what had just happened. He really wanted to get the crib for her and the baby. He grabbed his guitar out of the corner and started playing, hoping that he would get an idea…It didn't take long before he got one.  
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"How much can I get for it?" Greg asked looking as the man observed his first love.

"This is a pretty nice guitar son," the older man said. "Forgive me if I'm prying, but why do you want to get rid of it?"

It was the first guitar he had ever bought, and it was still in really good condition as he took really good care of it. He had saved for years to finally be able to afford it his junior year of high school. He had had it ever since and now he was giving it up. He had another guitar at home, but he knew it wasn't worth nearly as much, as it was originally cheaper.

"I don't _want_ to get rid of it," he informed him. "I just need the money for something more important."

The man inspected it a little while longer. He then looked at him, studying him, before finally naming his price. "I'll give you eleven hundred for it."

"I'll take it," he said having expected not to get that much. That would leave him a few hundred dollars left over and hopefully he could talk the sales people down and save even more money.

The man placed the guitar on the floor behind the counter and grabbed a receipt pad. He started writing some stuff down as he started talking to Greg.

"Now you have thirty days to come back and get this for the same price. I won't try to sell it until then, but after those thirty days it's mine and if you want it back, you have to buy it at my price."

He handed him the receipt before walking over to the safe behind him. He put in a combination and turned back with a few one hundred dollar bills. Greg held out his hand and the man counted the money out to him. He left the pawn shop and went straight over to the furniture store they had been at the week before.

* * *

"Ouch," Lisa said as she felt another kick to her kidney.

"Well at least all you have is two more months left," Lori told her as they walked down the hall towards their condo. "And only two more weeks left of school."

They had been out shopping for some things for the baby, and they were now hauling it all inside. They had been gone almost all day, and had left Greg and Seth painting the nursery that morning.

"Well I'm going to be minus a kidney if this kid doesn't stop kicking me," she told her as she dug in her purse for the keys. She opened the door and they walked down the short hall and into the living room. Lisa's mouth fell open as she saw the boxes that lay in the center of the room. She examined them and saw that two of them were the changing table/ dresser she picked out and the baby armoire chest.

"I thought you told me you hadn't bought any furniture yet?"

"We didn't," Lisa told her as she walked over to examine the boxes. "At least I didn't think we did." She got to the third box and looked at the picture on the side. She gasped when she saw what was in it.

"He got the crib," she said quietly as tears came to her eyes.

Lori walked over to her and looked at the box. "The crib you told me that you guy's couldn't afford?"

"Yeah," she nodded as she stared at the box.

"Well it looks like he found the money somewhere." Lori said.  
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They were unpacking some of the things they had bought when they heard Greg and Seth at the door laughing. Lisa got up and as soon as he walked into the living room her arms were wrapped around his neck as she pulled him into a hug. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, already knowing why she was hugging him.

"Thank you," she said after pulling away from him.

"You haven't been upstairs have you?" he asked her.

"No," she said a little confused. "Why what's upstairs?" He didn't say anything and she was soon on her way up the stairs with Lori behind her.

She went into the nursery where she figured she should look and her mouth fell open when she saw that the nursery was painted a light yellow and all the plastic and everything that had been in there that morning was gone. There was also a huge white rocking chair in the corner of the room that had a little light pink pastel stencil of a flower on the head rest.

"We still have to do the stencils along the ceiling and floor, but it should be ready by the end of the day, and we can let it dry tonight and air out for a few days before we start putting everything in," he said standing behind her. "And the chair is an early mother's day gift, you do still celebrate it if the baby isn't here yet right?"

"Thank you," she told him as she turned to face him and removed her hands from over her mouth. "It's beautiful."

She couldn't wait to get everything in the nursery. It was a huge distraction from being so anxious about the baby arriving.

* * *

Lisa was cleaning up the upstairs office area, which was a mess since it was where she kept her books and notes for school and he kept his books and journals for the hospital and everything else. It was also were they paid their monthly bills and managed their checking accounts. She was cleaning out the top desk drawer when she ran across a receipt from a pawn shop. She opened it up and read it, not having remembered Greg saying anything about pawning anything. 'Guitar, $1100, 30 days to buy back' was what she saw scribbled messily across the piece of paper. She then realized that she hadn't seen Greg's favorite guitar around lately.

"That's where he must have gotten the money for the crib and the rocking chair," she said to herself. She stared at the receipt for a little while, feeling guilty about wanting the more expensive crib. Then the words '30 days to buy back' popped out at her. She looked at the date on the receipt and saw that it had not been thirty days yet. She looked at the address on the receipt, before she stuck it in her pocket. She then put on her shoes and grabbed her purse and keys before heading out of the door. She made a stop at the bank before heading over to the pawn shop.

She walked into what she deemed a glorified junk yard and went up to the counter. She waited around for a little while, but didn't see anyone. So, she rang the little silver bell that was sitting on the counter. A short, stubby man came out of the back room and came up to her.

"May I help you?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said pulling the receipt from her pocket. "My boyfriend sold his guitar to you a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to buy it back." She handed him the receipt and he studied it before looking back at her. He went into the back room, without saying anything, and came back with two guitars.

"I remember I bought two guitars on that day," he told her, "but I don't know which one is your boyfriend's."

"That one," she said pointing to the one in his left hand.

"Are you sure?" he asked her. "Because I don't want the other guy coming back looking for his guitar and I've sold it."

"I'm positive," she told him. She had had enough guitar lessons on that guitar to know it. She had watched him sit and play it many times, often lulling her to sleep with it, when she was too tired to stay awake with him. It had become almost as special to her as it was to him, since she was the only one he would let get near it. She knew the guitar very well.

He sat the guitar he held in his right hand down on the floor behind the counter, and placed the one she wanted on top of the counter. "Do you have the eleven hundred bucks?"

"Right here," she said taking the money out of her wallet and handing it to him.

He counted to money before he started off towards the back room, "Give me a sec." He came back with the guitar case Greg had brought in with it. He placed the guitar in the case for her and she was on her way back home.  
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"Hey Babe," he said as he walked into the living room. His actions slowed as he dropped his back pack in the arm chair and stared at what she was holding. She just smiled at him, thinking he would be happy that she got his guitar back.

"How'd you get my guitar?" he asked a little suspicious.

"Well," she started happily, "I went down to the pawn shop where you sold it, and I bought it back."

"How'd you know that I pawned it?"

"I found the receipt when I was cleaning out the office," she told him as she tried to hand it to him, but he didn't take it.

"Lisa," he yelled. He was about to continue, but realized he was screaming and lowered his tone. "Why did you buy it back? I sold it for a reason." He took it from her and placed it back in the case. "We can't afford to buy it back."

"Yes we can," she told him, a little upset by his reaction. "I'm going to make loans through the school for next school year. That way we'll have some extra mon…"

"I told you not to make any loans," he told her

"I wanted to make the loans," she told him. "We needed the money."

"I told you I'd take care of it. And I did. I didn't need you to…,"

"Okay hold on, this is my baby too," she said. "I'm her mother, so that means I'm just as responsible as you are for taking care of her."

"That's not the point."

"Well what's the point then?" she asked him, now yelling along with him. "Tell me. Maybe I can get a better idea of the method behind my father's thinking."

"You can't compare this to what your father did wh…"

"Yes I can because you're doing exactly the same thing he did. And I'm going to take out the loans rather you like it or not because we need the extra money, so deal with it." She turned away from him, not waiting for him to reply, and went upstairs to the bedroom.

He wanted to follow her and continue the discussion, but he used his better judgment and decided not to. He sat on the couch and took the guitar out of its case and examined it. He was happy to have it back, and in the condition he had sold it. He rested his head on the back of the sofa and took a deep breath before blowing it out. He didn't think he was being unfair. He just wanted what was best for them. But maybe what was best for the baby was to have some extra money around to get her anything she may need, he thought. And Lisa wanted to make the loans; she wanted to be actively involved in taking care of the baby financially. Maybe he was just letting his testosterone driven ego get in the way…maybe he was acting like her father. He shook the thought and placed the guitar back in its case. He then went up stairs to the bedroom to find her lying in bed reading a book.

When she saw him come in, she rolled her eyes at him and closed the book before turning her back to him and closing her eyes, letting him know she didn't want to talk to him. He climbed in the bed behind her anyway and placed a kiss on the back of her neck. "I'm sorry," he whispered, as he brushed his lips up against her neck. He put his hand around her waist and turned her over to face him, before placing a kiss on her lips. "You're right. I was being an ass." He pressed his lips to hers again and this time she kissed back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Before long, they had discarded their clothes, and had found a comfortable position to carry out their make up sex.


	27. Chapter 26

Greg stood outside the door of their condo, twirling the little black box in his hand. He had been figured out that if he would marry anyone, it would be her. Her father's constant nagging about her having a kid and not being married had made him decide to ask her a little sooner. He didn't feel like he was being forced to marry her because he knew he would eventually. He just didn't want her to have to deal with her father's bitching about it. And since he had planned on marrying her anyway, he figured why even put her through the trouble. He'd just ask her and get her dad off of her back.

He locked the door behind him and walked into the living room. He didn't see her anywhere, and figured she was upstairs. He checked their bedroom and she wasn't there so he went into the nursery to find her sitting in the rocking chair.

"You know some people consider it creepy for a woman to just sit in a empty nursery," he told her.

"Well I would too," she told him, "unless that woman was eight months pregnant."

He smiled at her. "So what are you doing in here?"

"Just waiting," she said. "Everything's done. We have the crib, the mobile, a butt load of diapers and onesies from the baby shower, everything's put away. Everything's here, except for her," she said rubbing her belly, "and all I can do is wait. This has become my favorite room, I like hanging out in here."

He just looked at her. He had never thought she could have been more beautiful than she was when he first met her, but she was. She was carrying his child and she was glowing. She had become his best friend. Someone he could talk about anything with, someone who he could laugh with. She could hold her own against him in the heated arguments that often led to the mind blowing sex. To him, she was just perfect.

"Marry me," he told her. Her mouth fell open as she looked up at him with wide eyes, not sure if she had heard him correctly.

"What?"

He pulled the little black box out of his pocket and flipped it open, showing her the silver diamond ring that was inside. "I said marry me."

She put her hands to her mouth and stood up before taking the ring from the box. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," he said. "Of course, I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't serious, give me some credit. That joke would be too cruel even for me."

A smile came to her face and her eyes started to tear up, as she looked back at the ring. This was what she had wanted. She wanted to marry him, raise a family with him, and spend the rest of her life with him. She studied it for a little while longer and the smile disappeared from her face.

"I can't," she told him.

"What?" He asked in disbelief. "Why not?"

"I want to," she clarified.

"Well then why'd you just tell me you can't?"

"Because," she started, "I don't know if you're just doing this because I'm pregnant or because of what my dad's been saying."

"I'm asking you because I love you, and I want to marry you."

"I love you too," she told him, "and I do want to marry you. I just need to be sure that you're doing it for the right reasons. I don't want to have to wonder if you asked me because I'm having your baby or because you felt pressured by my dad or anything like that."

"That's not why I'm asking," he assured her.

"Then you'll still want to marry me later," she told him, with a hopeful smile. "After I have the baby, and you see what it's like. If you still want to marry me in a couple a months when I have spit up and drool all over me, and I have bags under my eyes from staying up all night with a colicky baby, then ask me then."

He smiled at her and leaned down to place a kiss on her lips. "Okay, but you have to promise you won't turn me down again."

She smiled back at him. "I promise."

* * *

"Well look at the bright side," Greg said as he sat on the couch with Lisa who was stuffing her face full of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream, "at least she'll probably have hair."

"Yeah, hopefully," she said. She was a week past her due date and she was huge and miserable. The nursery was ready, her mother and sister where on stand by to hop a plan at a minute's notice, Dr. Grey was on stand by, and she was beyond ready, but it seemed the baby they had decided to name Hayden wasn't. "At least something good would come out of her late arrival," she said looking down at her belly as if letting the baby know she was frustrated by her decision to not make her entrance into the world at or before her expected time. She knew that first time mothers usually went past their due date, but she was tired, and even more than that, she was ready to meet her little girl. She had been having a few pains, but they weren't frequent and they weren't that intense, and Dr. Grey had told her that it only meant she was getting close, but it wasn't the on set of labor.

"Just don't stick all of those big goofy bows in her hair," Greg started again, "because I will not be seen in public with my kid looking like that."

"Don't worry," she smiled at him. "I'll only put little cute bows that's sufficient for the amount of hair she has."

"How about we just invest in a baseball cap, and throw all of the bows in the trash," he said as she got up to go put the half eaten pint of ice cream up.

"You can get a baseball cap for when you take her out by yourself, or for when her hair gets longer and I'm not here to do it," she said as she went down the hall to the down stairs bathroom.

"Sweet," he said to himself. He wanted a tom-boy, not a girly girl.

He felt his stomach grumble and he realized that he hadn't really eaten anything that day. He got up to go to the kitchen, but when he passed the hallway he saw Lisa standing in the middle of the hall with one hand on the wall and the other at the bottom of her round stomach. She was bent forward a little and had a look of pain on her face.

"Lise?" he said as he walked towards her.

"I think you better call Dr. Grey," she told him.  
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An hour and a half later, Lisa was set up in her private room on the labor and delivery ward of the hospital. After confirming that she was in labor, Dr. Grey had given her the option of going home, since she probably wasn't going to be having the baby anytime soon, or staying at the hospital. She decided to stay at the hospital since she was ultimately going to end up there anyway. She was hooked up to machines that monitored her heart rate, the baby' s heart rate, and her contractions.

"Your mom and sister are on their way," Greg said as he walked back into her room. He lied down on the bed next to her and started to flip through the channels on the television. "Any more contractions?"

"No," she told him, "not since you left."

"Well it'll be over in no time?" he made the mistake of saying.

"No time," she asked him in disbelief. "I'm in pain. I need this to be over now."

"Sorry I…," he started, but she cut him off.

"You should be," she told him.

He decided not to say anything else to her right then and there and turned his attention back to the television. She was quiet for a little while, before she began talking again

"What do you think she'll look like?"

"Hopefully, not like all of those other little wrinkled, shriveled up things in the nursery," he said.

"That's awful," she said laughing a little. "But seriously though."

"Well, I don't think that I have any grotesquely hideous people in my family, although I've never really met any of them. You don't have any cousin itts in your family do you?"

"No, not that I know of," she said.

"Well I'm hot," he said before looking her over, "hmm, you're okay," he added making her hit him in his side. "Oww, I'm just kidding," he said laughing at her. "You're hot, possibly even hotter than I am." She smiled at him.

"I'm definitely hotter than you are," she said.

"Talking about a narcissist," he said. "First fishing for compliments, then putting other people down."

"Shut up," she said playfully. He put his arm around her pulling her closer and she laid her head on his arm.

"I think the kid might actually have a pretty decent shot at being attractive," he said.

"So you think she'll be the cutest baby in the nursery?"

"I think she'll be beautiful," he said looking down at her, "just like her mother."

"Aww," she said before leaning over to place a kiss

on his lips. All of a sudden the machine monitoring the contractions started beeping. "I hate you." She managed to get out right before the pain hit her.

"I didn't do anything," he said. She didn't speak until the pain subsided.

"What do you mean you didn't do anything?"

"You got mad at me because you had a contraction, I know it hurts, but I didn't do anything."

"I'm not mad at you because I had a contraction, I'm mad because you didn't have one," she told him.

"What?" he asked confused.

"We both had sex, yet I'm the only one in pain right now," she said hitting him in the arm. "Get out of the bed," she said shoving him away from her. He got out of the bed and sat on the chair next to it.

"Well sorry, but I still don't see how that's going to help." He said. She just shot him a mean glare, and he could have sworn that he was two seconds away from high beam lasers coming out of her eyes and causing him to disintegrate.

He decided to be quiet once again, and turned back to the television. Before long, she managed to fall asleep through the pain. It was getting late, and she was really tired. She heard Greg say something about her mom and her sister, but didn't know what he meant until she woke up and saw her mother sitting in the chair that Greg had been in earlier and her sister sitting on the other chair across the room.

"Mmhhm," she moaned as she opened her eyes.

"How are you feeling baby?" her mother said as she quickly made her way to her bedside.

"I'm in pain," she said. "When did you guys get here?"

"Not to long ago," her sister said. "Dad pulled some strings and got us on the first flight here."

"Where's Greg?" she asked, realizing that he wasn't there.

"He had a patient, but he said if you needed him to just have your nurse page him and he'd be right up," her mother said.

She shifted her position and got as comfortable as she could. Her mother and sister stayed a few hours before Greg came in and relieved them of their duties, giving them a chance to go to their place and shower, change clothes, and take a nap if needed, since the labor was progressing slowly.

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"I told you those things were ugly," Greg said as he helped Lisa get back in the bed. They had just come from taking a walk to the nursery, and observing the babies. She had to beg him to keep his voice down, because there were other people at the window and they didn't know which baby was theirs. Luckily, he had not offended anyone while they were there. He waited until she was back in the bed before hooking all of the machines back up to her. He then climbed in on side of her.

"They're not ugly," she told him. "They're newborns, they just have to come into their looks."

"Well they better speed it up," he said, "because they don't look too hot now. They're parents might accidentally leave them here."

Before she could reply to the awful remark he had just made, Dr. Grey walked in. "Lets see how far along you've gotten my dear."

He raised the sheet up from the bottom of the bed and began examining her. He was done a few moments later and placed the sheets back down.

"Well everything's still looking good," he told her. "You've dilated five centimeters…,"

"Five centimeters?" she asked in disbelief. "Only five centimeters?" He nodded. "I've been here over twelve hours."

"All births are different," he told her. "You're actually doing pretty well to say it's your first baby. You're right on schedule. I'll be back to check on you in an hour or so." He left the room.

"You know they say walking usually speeds up the process," Greg told her.

"I don't want to walk right now," she said tiredly. "I just wanna sleep a little more." She closed her eyes and tried to dose off again. She had slept a little earlier, but hadn't gotten much rest due to the pains waking her.

She woke up a few hours later, to find that her mother and her sister had once again traded places with Greg. She picked up the sheet that lay over her and looked at her stomach. "Great," she said sarcastically. "I'm still pregnant."

"Well what'd you think?" Jennifer asked her. "That you would fall asleep and the baby would somehow magically appear without you pushing or anything?"

"Shut up," she told her, as her mother stood from her chair.

"I'll go get the doctor so he can check you," she said.  
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"You guys need a food break, now's your chance," Greg said walking into the room. "But you better hurry before my patient starts dying again. He's so inconsiderate."

"Mom you hungry?" Jenn asked.

"Yeah, I could use a bite," she said as they both got up. She then turned to Lisa. "We'll be right back sweetheart. You want anything?"

"A burger would be fine," she told her.

Greg pointed them in the direction of the cafeteria and they left. He turned back to Lisa who was now getting out of the bed.

"I think I'll take you up on that walk now," she said.

"What did Dr. Grey say?"

"Five and half centimeters," she said.  
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It had been over twenty four hours and she was only seven and a half centimeters dilated, but her contractions were getting closer. She could tell that the labor was progressing because they were also getting more intense.

"Do you think she hates me?" she asked.

"No, she doesn't even know you well enough yet," he told her. "I'd say you've got until she's a teenager for her to start hating you."

"Then why is she doing this to me?"

He suppressed the urge to laugh, not wanting to end up in a hospital bed of his own.

"She's just trying to make a grand entrance," he told her, as he started to massage small circles in her lower back. "Maybe we can talk her out."

He readjusted himself and brought his face closer to her stomach.

"Hey Hayden, remember me?" he waited as if he was going to get a respond. "Yeah, I'm fine thanks for asking, but there is one thing I think you can help me with if you don't mind." She smiled despite the pain she was in. She loved it when he talked to the baby. "You see you're mom's getting real edgy right now because you don't seem to want to come out. She used to have real nice curves, but you being in there, well I hate to tell you this kid, but you're creating the wrong kind of curve…I know I know," he said holding up his hands. "It's not entirely your fault, we had our hand in it too, but you've kinda overstayed your welcome, and she's trying to evict you and you won't leave. And that's making her a little crazy, and she keeps snapping at me. I'm fearing for my safety here kid, so could you do me a huge favor and speed up the process? I know it's warm and cozy, but if you don't come out soon, you're mom's going to kill someone, namely me, then you're going to be fatherless." He waited for a '_response_' before he spoke again. "Okay, that's all I ask." He took his head away from her belly and looked back into her face as a huge smile splayed across her face. "She said she'll see what she can do."

The machine monitoring the contractions beeped and she grabbed onto his arms as she buried her face in his chest. He again started massaging small circles in her lower back, trying to give her a little comfort as she rode out the contractions.

"I don't know if I can do this," she said looking up at him.

"You're doing fine," he reassured her. "Just think about the prize we're going to get at the end."

She nodded and laid her head on his chest, trying to focus on the only thing that could make going through all of the pain worth it.  
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"Okay I can see the head Lisa," Dr. Grey said. "You're almost there. Just a few more pushes."

"I can't," she said.

"Yes you can," Greg told her as he tore his eyes away from what was going on with the bottom half of her body. Yes, he was a doctor, and yes, he had done an OB/GYN rotation, but he had managed to weasel his way out of ever actually attending a live birth. He just showed up in one after everything had happened, and the attending had been so busy, he wasn't sure who was or wasn't in the room. This was actually seeing a baby being born, and it seemed like something out of the exorcist to him. "Just remember your breathing technique."

"I don't have a breathing technique," she spat at him, "because you managed to get us kicked out of the birthing class remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," he said as she shot him a mean glare.

She was about to say something else, but thankfully for him, she had another contraction and Dr. Grey ordered her to push. Greg was pretty sure that he would have some crushed bones in his hands by the time it was all over with, but he hung in there. He heard Dr. Grey yell 'push' once more. After Lisa had managed to quiet down from the latest contraction, Dr. Grey informed them that the head was out.

Greg looked down again towards Dr. Grey. "Well she does have a full head of hair," he said.

She looked at him like she wanted to kill him. "I don't give a damn about her hair," she yelled at him.

"Greg do yourself a favor and shut up," Dr. Grey told him. "Trust me on this one." He just nodded. Dr. Grey then turned back to Lisa. "Okay, just one more good push and I can pull her out. So on the count of three. One, two, three."

She gathered all her strength and pushed as hard as she could, wanting it all to be over with. Greg looked over at the nurse trying to get some comfort for the pain he was feeling in his hand, but she seemed to be dealing with it fine. The sound of a high pitched cry, took his mind away from the pain as he watched Dr. Grey place the baby on the sheet on top of Lisa's stomach. She was covered in a white chalk like substance and the nurse immediately began wiping her off and suctioning her. A smile came to his face as he watched her tiny fists flail blindly around her and her little legs kicked wildly. Dr. Grey clamped the umbilical cord and handed the medical scissors to Greg.

"I hope you know what to do with those," he said jokingly.

He clipped the umbilical cord and handed the scissors back to Dr. Grey. He then looked at Lisa who was still in awe at the tiny being as she reached out and stroked their daughter's hand. The nurses took her to the little baby bed across from Lisa's bed as Dr. Grey finished up his job. She smiled tiredly as she watched the baby kick and scream while nurses cleaned her up and weighed her along with other things, making sure she was healthy. Before long, one of the nurses had wrapped her up in a little white blanket and was walking back over to Lisa with her. She reached out her arms and the nurse handed her the baby.

"Everything seems fine," the nurse assured Greg as Lisa had already drifted off into a world of her own with the baby in her arms. "Just some usual stats, she weighed in at eight pounds three ounces and she's eighteen and one fourth inches long."

He looked down at Lisa who was fixated on the baby who had quieted down seconds after being placed in her mother's arms. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times as a frown came to her face. It was too bright for her. After her eyes had adjusted to the light, she looked straight up at Lisa and her heart melted.

"Hi Hayden," she said softly as she caressed her hand again. She kissed the baby's forehead.

"I told you she'd be beautiful just like her mother."

She turned to him and smiled. "You wanna hold her?"

He reached out his arms and she handed the baby to him. "Hello sweetheart," he said already head over heals in love with the little girl in his arms. He held her a little while longer before the nurse came up to him.

"We have to take her to the nursery so the pediatrician can look at her and make sure we didn't miss anything." He handed the baby to her and they both watched as she wheeled their little girl out of the room.


	28. Chapter 27

The smile seemed to be permanently set on his face as he sat and watched them sleep. Lisa had fallen asleep immediately after being brought into her room. Not soon after, the nurses brought the baby in as she had instructed them to do. Now, the little clear crib sat on side of her hospital bed, with a little pink card that read 'Baby Girl House, July 10th 1993, 8lbs. 3oz. 18 ¼ in. They had already had a lot of visitors, all who said they would come back after Lisa had finished resting. He watched them a little while longer before he saw the tiny blanket started to move a little. He sat up in his chair and peeped over the side of the crib. He saw a pair of dark blue eyes curiously searching the room, bouncing from wall to wall before they came to settle on his face. He smiled when her attention stayed focused on him. He got up and took a couple of steps towards the crib and reached into it, picking her up. He secured her his in his right arm, snuggling her closer to his body, and she sighed as if she was content.

"Hi, Hayden," he said softly as he walked over to the window of the room. He shifted her so he was holding her in his hands, facing him. He felt his heart flutter as her eyes roamed his face taking in and becoming familiar with all of his features. "You finally get to put a face with the voice now. I'm your dad. Just to get you acquainted with the term, because I plan on betting your mom that you'll say daddy before you say mommy," he told her. She just stared, as if she could understand what he was saying. "But not that incoherent babble like 'da da' or 'ma ma'. We know that doesn't count, so just remember that when you decided to actually start talking. Yeah that crazy lady back there is your mother. She's the one I told you about trying to strangle me. But don't worry about that, she'll actually probably start to be nice again now that you won't be giving her anymore kidney shots." He smiled at the thought of him getting surprising blows at night from Lisa after she had felt a kick or an elbow to the ribs. "You know she's been waiting for you," he started again, "I think since the day she found out about you. I tried to tell her not to rush it, because we take you home tomorrow…and well, we're gonna be in for it.

He didn't notice Lisa stirring in the bed behind him. She opened her eyes slowly and looked over at the clear crib. All she saw was a blanket, and her attention went over to the tall figure standing at the window. She saw that he was holding a bundle wrapped in blankets, and decided not to disturb him as he continued talking.

"But you're lucky, you've got a great mom. Because I gotta tell you kid, if it was left up to me, you'd be in trouble."

"You'll be a great father," she said quietly. He turned around to see her staring at him with a smile on her face. Her eyes quickly went to the bundle in his arms, and not being able to resist any longer she held out her hands. He smiled and walked over to the bed placing the baby in her arms. Her smile grew wider as she looked down at the baby, who was now staring straight up at her.

She slowly unwrapped the blanket, inspecting the physical for herself. After she was satisfied with the ten finger and ten toes, she wrapped the blanket back around the baby's little body. She remembered him saying something about a full head of hair, and she peaked under the little cap to see the baby did have hair that resembled her own in color.

"I still can't believe we have a baby," she said, staring back into the baby's face.

"Yeah, me either," he started. "They said we can take her home tomorrow. I say we get out of here first thing in the morning before they change their minds."

She laughed a little. "We'll be fine. We have no other choice." She said before turning her attention back to the baby. "She's perfect."

He agreed and they continued their two way conversation between the three of them. A while later the nursing coach came in. After Hayden had had her first feeding, the lady left, but only to be replaced by Lisa's mother and sister. More visitors came as the day went along , and by the end of the day the room was filled with flowers, teddy bears, and pink balloons. The nurse had come in to get the baby again, only to check her temperature and things like that to make sure everything was still working the way it was supposed to. Greg had taken that opportunity to gather his colleagues and show him that his kid was indeed the cutest in the nursery. He hated that he had to leave and go see to a patient, but her mother and sister kept her company and fawned over the baby enough to make up for his absence, but he still wanted to be the one to do it.

* * *

"Lets get out of here," Greg said as he strapped the baby into the beige and light pink car seat. It was the one they had decided on after he had fought tooth and nail about her getting the pinker one. "I don't want to be at this place if I don't have to."

It was almost noon, and they were getting ready to leave the hospital after they had signed the release papers. They made their way down to the front of the hospital, where Jennifer had pulled the car up under the pavilion. Lisa was happy that her mom and her sister would be there for the first few days. They would ease some of her anxiety about bringing the baby home, because Greg wasn't helping with his constant reassurance that they had a really good chance of '_breaking her_'. She was sure they would be fine. After all, they were both competent people. They would manage, but having her mother there was still a huge relief.

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"Oh my God, you're going to kill us all," Greg yelled from the passenger seat. "You can't turn here."

"Shut up, I can drive," Jenn retorted. "I'm just not used to this city."

"Well apparently," he started.

Lisa drowned them out, after laughing at them both as she stared down at the baby. She smiled humbly at the sight before her. The baby sat slightly slouched with the help of the supporter that framed her little body. The car seat would have swallowed her without it. The seatbelt fastener covered her chest and abdomen, and she didn't stir at all from the peaceful sleep. Lisa reached out and started to caress the palm of her hand. The baby instinctively flexed her hand and tiny fingers before relaxing them loosely around her mother's finger. She was in heaven, at least until she heard one of Greg's comments.

"Just pull over and let me drive, for God's sake, you drive like your sister," he told her.

"Hey," she said in her defense as her face frowned up. "I drive perfectly fine…," she started in on the argument.

Anne just smiled as she replaced Lisa's fingers with her own in Hayden's palm. "Don't worry sweetheart," she started, "they're all crazy, but Grandma will be here to make sure you're okay…for the first few days anyway. I just hope your mother and father will be able to take over after that. "

"I am not pulling over," Jennifer told him, "we're only a block away now."

"Can you just make sure we get there without having to make a U-turn back to the hospital?"

"Are you sure you don't wanna go back to the hospital?" she asked him. "Because it can be arranged."

He looked at the two sisters who were both staring at him with identical sets of eyes boring through him. He just turned and looked out of the window, deciding not to criticize anyone else's driving skills for the time being. They arrived at the home in one piece and made their way up to the third floor. When they got into the apartment, Greg sat the carrier on the sofa and Lisa immediately unstrapped her and took her out of the seat. He backed away. He wanted to hold her, but he knew better than to get between women and babies.

"Lisa, you're not supposed to just hold her all the time," her mother told her.

"It's not all the time," she retorted. "We just got home. I haven't held her since before we left the hospital." She had just opened her eyes, but stared tiredly at the faces around her. Jennifer and Anne sat on either side of Lisa as they all awed and cooed over the baby, while Greg was in the kitchen cooking something for them all to eat.

"Okay," Anne said getting up from the sofa, "you are going to spoil her then you'll be sorry. I think you should put her down, you'll have plenty of time to hold her later."

Anne went into the kitchen and took over the cooking duties, practically pushing Greg out of the kitchen. Lisa sighed and reluctantly placed the baby back in her seat. Before she could get up, Jenn had reached in and picked her up. Lisa just stared at her.

"What?" Jenn asked. "I can hold her, I'm leaving in a few days. "

Lisa rolled her eyes playfully, before going upstairs to take a shower. She was excited to be home, but it was a new feeling for her. Her stomach was flat again, although she would have to do a little work to get it as firm as it used to be, and now she had a baby. She never would have thought that she would have been a mother at twenty three; it just wasn't in her plans. But she was happy to have her baby home with her. It was going to be interesting.

She had just pulled her shirt over her head, when she heard a fussy cry coming from the other side of the bedroom door, followed by Greg's voice. "Open up," he started. "It's your turn to hold her now."

She smiled to herself as she unlocked the bedroom door. She took the baby from him and walked over to the arm chair on the other side of the room and sat down. Greg followed her and sat on the edge of the bed. By now one of Hayden's flailing fists had found it's way to her mouth, she sucked on it for a few seconds before realizing that it wasn't doing the job, and she starting crying again.

"So when are your mom and sister going home?" he asked as she pulled up her shirt and tried to get the baby to latch.

"Why? Are they bothering you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not really. Just need to know how long we're going to have extra people hanging around."

"Don't worry. They're leaving in a couple of days," she assured him.

She knew that he didn't really have a problem with them being there, but she had warned him to watch what he said and did while they were there. She knew that he didn't like being censored, so the faster they were gone, the better for him.

She looked down at the baby who was now successfully feeding. She smiled and caressed her little hand until he started talking again.

"So uh…" he started, "how long are your boobs going to stay that size."

She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "I'm guessing they'll go back to their regular size, a couple of weeks after I stop nursing."

"Then can I play with them again?" He asked sounding like a little boy who had just gotten his favorite action figures taken away.

She laughed a little but didn't bother answering him. By the time the baby finished feeding, she had fallen asleep. Greg had left the room to go answer the phone and he was currently trying to answer all of his mother's questions about the baby that couldn't really be answered. She pulled her shirt and bra back down, before wiping the stream of milk that dribbled from the corner of the baby's mouth. She then stood and brought her into the nursery, laying her in her crib. She turned on the baby monitor that hung on the bars of the crib and took the other with her as she went back downstairs. She walked past Greg who had taken up residence on the futon as he continued to talk to his mother. She went downstairs to join her mother and sister.

* * *

"Com'on Hayden," she said as she shifted the baby to her other shoulder. "You're not hungy, I just finished feeding you, you have a clean diaper, so what do you want?"

It was their second night at home with the baby and though the first night had gone exceptionally well, the second night was proving not to be as pleasant. She was tired, and for some reason, the baby wouldn't stop crying. She wanted to go to sleep. Before long her mother showed up at the door of the nursery.

"Here," she said holding out her arms, "let me take her for a while." She studied her mother for a moment before reluctantly handing the baby over. She walked out the nursery and went into the bedroom. She sat down on the bed waking Greg, as she put her head in her hands.

"Is she asleep?" he asked groggily. He had only gotten home from the hospital a few hours ago, and had to get up soon to go back. He became a little bit more aware when he saw that she had started crying. "What's wrong?" he asked pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her.

She felt inadequate, like she wasn't good enough to be a mother. She couldn't even get her baby to stop crying. She was at least supposed to be able to do that, after all, she _was_ her mother. Her mother and sister were doing a good job at helping her, and she had been doing fine with little to no help from them until now. They would be leaving the next day, but Blythe would be coming out the next week. She would only stay for a couple of days, so she had to learn to deal with being a new mother on her own, and she had to learn quickly.

"She won't stop crying," she said between sobs. "I did everything I know to do and she won't stop crying."

"Well," he started trying to find some comforting words, as he heard the baby's wailing from the other room, "babies do that. They can be perfectly fine and they'll still cry just because they can."

He rubbed her arm as she continued to cry. "Maybe she's crying because she knows you're upset."

"I'm not upset," she told him. "Well at least I wasn't anyway, but… I don't know…I'm just tired."

"But you are now, so that might explain why she's crying now. They're just little primitive reflexive instincts; they pick up on things like that. Just try to calm down a little bit."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer to him. A little while later, her tears stopped and she decided to give it another go, seeing as she could still hear their daughter's obviously healthy lungs coming from the other room. She figured he was right, but why did he always have to make everything so scientific. She climbed out of the bed and he followed, choosing to occupy the rocking chair as she went over to her mother and took the baby from her.

"Shhh, Mommy's here," she said softly as she cradled the baby close to her chest as she continued to cry. She began rocking her gently as she gently caressed her back and began pacing the room. The baby's wailing started to quiet a little bit, and became mostly random little fussy cries, and she continued to whisper soothing words to her. Before long she had quieted completely and her eyelids started getting heavy, and she was soon asleep. A smile came to Lisa's face as she looked down at the now sleeping baby. Greg smiled to himself as she got lost in her own little world once again. He knew that she would be a great mom.

"Great," Greg exclaimed as he got up from the chair. "Now that the almighty ruler of the house has quieted down, maybe the rest of us can get some sleep."

Anne left the room and went back down stairs, while Greg went into their bedroom, followed by Lisa and the baby. She climbed in placing herself between Greg and the baby, knowing she would be up in another three to four hours for another feeding.


	29. Chapter 28

She laid the sleeping baby down in the crib and went to go take a shower, bringing the monitor into the bathroom with her. Greg had just left to go get his mother from the airport, so she figured she had about forty minutes to shower and get dressed before they got back. She stepped into the warm shower, happy for the relief that it provide to her tender breasts. At first she had thought breastfeeding wasn't for her, and was a little upset about it, but the nursing coach assured her it would get better as time went along and as she did it more. She was right, it was getting better, but she was still sore. What she didn't tell her is that she would be exhausted for the first few weeks, trying to maintain a clean house and keeping up with the baby's feeding schedule and seeing to her every need. The nights were still a little rough, but she had never gotten as discouraged as she had the second night after they had brought the baby home.

She got out of the shower and started dressing. She was only about half way dressed when she heard the baby starting to stir. She wasn't crying, so she finished dressing and made her way to the nursery. She leaned on the side of the crib and smiled down at the baby as she kicked her little legs and waived her tiny little arms in the air.

"That was a short nap Hayden," she said, immediately drawing the baby's attention to her face after hearing her voice. She picked her up and continued talking. "You know if you sleep longer, you can stay awake longer, and then you don't have to worry about daddy trying to wake you up when you're sleeping because he wants to play with you."

She walked over to the changing table, and placed her on it, preparing to change yet another diaper. She went through a lot of diapers, Lisa was a little happy about that. It was a sign that the breastfeeding was going well and that the baby was getting enough nutrients. That and the loud sounds she made when feeding gave her comfort that her baby was thriving well. Hayden just looked up at her, listening intently at the sound of the most familiar and comforting sound she had encountered as she continued talking.

"I've tried to tell him that you're not a toy, but he can't seem to stay away from you when he's here."

She finished changing her diaper and picked her up placing her on her shoulder. She had taken into consideration what her mother had said, and had tried to stop holding her as much, but cuddling her couldn't hurt. After all she wanted her baby to feel secure, comfortable and loved. That and being a new mom made it hard to fight the urge to pick her up and hold her close every time she thought about it, which was all the time. She snuggled the baby a little while longer before she heard Greg's voice coming from downstairs.

"Lise, we're back," he yelled.

She smiled, happy that she was finally getting to meet Greg's mother, but a little nervous also. She had talked with the woman many times on the phone and felt like they already knew each other, but she was still a little nervous. She walked out to the balcony and saw that Blythe was already making her way up the stairs. She looked at the older woman who seemed to be in her fifties, but still looked good for her age as she hastily made her way up the stairs. "

Lisa," she started. She didn't really have a chance to say anything before the woman pulled her into a hug, careful not to crush Hayden who she still had on her shoulder, her neck struggling under the weight of her head as she tried unsuccessfully to pick it up to search for the source of the new voice. "It's so nice to finally meet you dear, although I feel like I've known you for years."

"It's nice to meet you too," Lisa replied with a chuckle, having been thinking the same thing.

She pulled back and her hands went to her mouth and she gasped, as her attention quickly focused in on Hayden. Lisa adjusted her in her arms so Blythe could get a better look at her. The baby seemed to have forgotten about the source of the new sound as she marveled at the new view her new position offered her.

"She's beautiful," she said as she ran a finger across the back of the baby's hand. Lisa looked down at the baby, and smiled, feeling a little more comfortable in Blythe's presence. "May I?"

"Sure," Lisa said as she handed the baby over to Blythe.

"Hi there pretty girl," Blythe said, as Hayden looked up at her, curiously studying the new face. "I'm you're grandma…,"

Lisa watched as Blythe continued to coo over her first grandchild. Knowing the baby was in good hands, she decided to go downstairs to see what trouble Greg was probably getting himself into. She was a little taken back when she saw him walking back into the living room with Paul following behind him. She stood at the bottom of the stairs and just looked, feeling a little uncomfortable in his presence.

"Hey Lisa," he said with a cheesy smile.

"Paul," she said quietly and began moving around picking up some of the things that were lying around the cluttered living room, mostly things for the baby.

Greg went back into the kitchen and he walked over to her. He extended his hand to her, holding a soft pink teddy bear. She just looked up at him.

"For the baby," he told her. "I told you I'd get her something."

"Thanks," she said taking the bear and bringing it upstairs with the rest of the things she had gathered. She came back down stairs and grabbed the cloth diaper off of the back of the sofa, and brought it into the laundry room. When she walked back into the living room, she saw that Greg had gone upstairs.

"So how have things been going?" he asked. "I heard being a new mother could be tough."

"I'm managing," she said.

"You have a really beautiful baby," he told her. "I saw her at the hospital."

"Thanks," she said.

He saw how nervous she was and decided to say something. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she told him as she looked at him for the first time, after picking up a few more things.

"You seem a little nervous," he told her. She didn't answer. He took a few steps towards her. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable with some of the things I've said. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable around me."

"It's fine," she told him.

"It's just that I can't help but to be a little jealous of Greg," he told her. "I mean you've got to have known that I've been attracted to you since the first time I met you, at the pub."

He started to come closer to her, and she just stared at him. She didn't think that he would try anything with Greg and his mother upstairs, but he still creeped her out.

"I mean he has the girl of my dreams," he told her as he brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, letting his fingertips linger on her cheek. "And now he has a little girl that's just as beautiful as her mother."

He backed away from her when they heard Blythe coming down the stairs. She hadn't noticed their close proximity due to the fact that she was still fixated on the baby in her arms, who was now hungrily sucking on her fists, causing loud smacking noises to fill the air.

"Lisa, I think she's hungry," Blythe said as she walked over to her.  
She quickly took the baby from Blythe, glad to get away from Paul, and headed upstairs to the nursery.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met," she heard Blythe say as she reached the top stair.

"Whoa, what's the rush?" Greg asked as she almost collided into him.

"There's no rush," she said quietly, "I'm just going to feed her." She walked around him and went into the nursery.

Greg brushed it off and went downstairs and handed the book that he had been carrying to Paul. Shortly after, and much to Lisa's relief, he left.

* * *

"And this is one when he was only six months old," Blythe said, showing Lisa another picture she had brought with her. It was a picture of Greg in the bathtub. "He was such a pudgy little thing."

"Yes he was," Lisa said laughing a little bit. It was fun seeing things from his past, especially since it clashed so much with the hard persona that he tried to portray. She started laughing even harder when she turned around to see Greg drinking a beer and boring holes into the back of their heads with his eyes. They looked at a few more pictures before Hayden started getting a little cranky, bored with looking up at the colorful toys that hung from the soft beam attached to the plush blanket she was lying on.

"I think some one needs a nap," Blythe said as Lisa got up from the sofa, and picked up the baby.

"I'll go put her down," she said walking up the stairs.

Blythe looked over at her son and he just stared at her before he started talking. "Think you brought enough pictures?" he asked with a bitter tone, bringing a smile to her face.

"Oh Gregory, don't be mad," she said as she got up and walked over towards the him. "You were an adorable baby."

"Past tense," he said. "Leave the past in the past."

She smiled lovingly at him. "I'm glad you decided to do just that." He looked at her a moment before going to the refrigerator and grabbing another beer. "I'm glad you didn't let your relationship with your father keep you from starting your own family."

"Newsflash Mom," he told her, "in case you didn't know, the little bundle of oohs and ahhs upstairs wasn't exactly planned."

"I know that," she told him, "but you're still glad that you have her. You're happy that you have a daughter, even though you were so adamant about not having kids."

He stared at the beer in his hand, as he remembered a few of the conversations that he had had with his mother, swearing to her that he would never have kids, if only because he didn't want to screw them up like his father had screwed him up. She would tell him that he wasn't screwed up, and that he would make a wonderful father.

"And I bet when she gets older, she'll be really happy to have you as her father," she continued.

"Yeah, well don't go trying to predict the future," he told her. "I still have plenty of time to screw it all up."

"We all make mistakes Gregory," she told him, "but I know you'll try your best to do what's right for that little girl…and her mother."  
He smiled to himself. "Lisa's a really beautiful girl," she continued.

"I know mom," he told her. "Her beautiful-ness is the reason why there's a kid waking us up in the middle of the night."

"Do you love her?"

"Of course I do," he told her. "We wouldn't have been together this long if I didn't."

"Do you plan on marrying her?"

"Yeah, I think," he told her. "She's already turned me down once before."

"Why would she do that?" Blythe asked a little surprised and concerned.

"She thought that I wanted to marry her because she was pregnant," he told her.

"Well?" she said.

"Well what?"

"Is that the only reason?"

"No," he told her. "I just told you I love her."

"Then give her time, and ask her again," she told him.

"That's the plan," he said, taking a sip of his beer.

* * *

"Hey," she said after hearing him pick up on the other end of the line. She drew her brows in, in confusion after hearing the noise in the background. "Did you have to work late?"

"No," he told her, "we just decided to go out for a few drinks after our shift was over. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she asked. "I just thought you would have called and said something with your mom being here and all."

"Aww she'll be fine," he told her. "She likes hanging out with you more than she likes hanging out with me."

"Well, do you know when you'll be home?"

"Uhmm, before ten," he told her.

"Kay," she told him, a little disappointed. "I was just calling to see if you had to work late, and make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," he told her. "But I'll be even better after a few more drinks. I'll see you when I get home."

"Bye."

With that she hung up the phone, a little sadden by the fact that he hadn't bothered to call her and let her know that he was going out after work. She brushed it off. After all, he had gone out for drinks after work before without calling. She just felt a little differently about it, being that she was stuck home with the baby. Before, she could just grab her things and go out where ever she wanted while he was out with his friends, but she couldn't do that anymore. She found comfort in the fact that she had some adult company, for the time being anyway.

"Is Greg on his way home?" Blythe asked coming down the stairs.

"No. He went out with a few of his friends," she told her. "Is she asleep?" she asked referring to Hayden.

"She went out like a light," Blythe said with a smile. She then noticed the discontent look on Lisa's face. "Is there something wrong dear?"

"Just a little tired," she told her. "I'm going to go take a shower and get ready for bed."

"You do that sweetie," Blythe told her. "You look exhausted."

"I am," she said tiredly, as tears welled up in her eyes. "I feel like I've been doing almost everything by myself, but then I feel guilty for feeling that way, because he's a really good father. He holds her, he plays with her. It's just that he's hardly ever here because of work, and he works so much that I get up all hours of the night with her, and when he's off, I still have to get up with her. ..and then he does stupid things like going out with his friends and not even calling home first. I'm not mad that he went out, but we have a baby now. He shouldn't just think that it's okay, just because I'm home to take care of her. I need his help now, and even more so after you leave, and I don't know what I'm going to do when school starts back up again." By now the tears were flowing freely down her face.

"Aww come here sweetheart," Blythe said pulling her into a hug. "I remember those days very well. Men are idiots, they just don't get it, and no matter how hard you try to beat it into his head, he still won't get it." She hugged her a little while longer before she pulled back. "Maybe you should talk to him about it. Like I said, he won't understand it, but I'm sure he'll start helping you out a little more. And as far as those early morning feedings, I think you should invest in a breast pump. It'll come in real handy for when you start school again, and Gregory won't be able to ease his way out of getting out of bed just as often as you do to see to her. "

Lisa nodded, she had been thinking about what she would do about the baby's feeding once she started school. She knew that she would have to put her in daycare, and that she wouldn't be able to be with her all the time. She didn't want to stop breastfeeding at least until she was three months old, so maybe a breast pump would be a good idea.

"Now you go upstairs and take a nice hot shower, and go to bed. It'll calm you down," Blythe told her. "And I'll see to the baby throughout the night so you can get a better rest. I'll only wake you if she's hungry."

She started up the stairs, showered and crawled into the bed, feeling a little bit more relaxed after the shower. She was sleeping pretty well and in longer intervals than she had been since the baby had come home, that is until she felt someone shaking her gently from her sleep. She opened her eyes and it took a few seconds for her vision to come into focus. She thought she would see Blythe, but instead she saw Greg with a fussy Hayden in his arms.

"Hey," he told her as he sat on the end of the bed. "I think she's hungry."

She glared at him then rolled her eyes, as she sat up in the bed.

"What?" he asked a little confused by her actions. "It's not like I can feed her."

"Just give her to me," she told him.

He handed the baby over to her, and just stared at her wondering where the nasty attitude had come from as she began to feed the baby.  
She was mad at him for waking her up, well at least that's what she told herself. She knew that there was another reason that she was mad at him, because she had to wake up to feed the baby. If it wasn't him waking her up, it would have been Blythe or Hayden's loud and angry hunger cries. They said that babies do not usually develop their personalities until at least a few months after birth, but she could already tell that she had a demanding little girl on her hands. It seemed that she only gave someone a minute or two to respond to her cries, before she seemed to forget about what she was crying for in the first place and get mad. She looked down at the baby as she fed, forgetting about being mad at him for the moment. That is until she realized that he was still in the room and still staring at her.

"What?" she asked sounding annoyed.

"Nothing," he said quickly, as he got up from the edge of the bed and went over to his side.

"You want me to stay awake with you, until you finish feeding her," he offered, getting some sort of an idea of why she was mad at him…maybe.

"I don't care what you do Greg," she told him.

He looked at her a little while longer before lying down, and closing his eyes prepared to go to sleep. He fought the instinctive urge to lean over and kiss her on her cheek, fearing to get too close to her. Once again she rolled her eyes at him. She would give him a while to see if he would get better with helping her throughout the night, but she was definitely going to get a breast pump and make plenty of bottles to last throughout the night. Just in case he heard her crying before she did.


	30. Chapter 29

"Obviously, you know why she's mad at me," Greg said as he drove his mother back to the airport.

She just looked at him and he glanced over at her. "So are you going to tell me or not?"

"I think that is something you should talk to her about," Blythe told him, "but I will tell you this. I think you should spend more time with her and the baby."

"I do spend time with them," he defended, "I'm home most of the time. Besides the hospital, that's where I spend most of my time."

"Yeah, because you need sleep," she told him.

He couldn't say anything. It would be useless denying that he slept most of the time he was home because he did, and even he knew that. The car became quiet for a while, before his mother spoke again.

"I saw that she was wearing my necklace." She was referring to the necklace, she had given to him when she found out about his first real girlfriend in high school. It was a sterling silver heart shaped locket with a heart shaped diamond in the middle, on a linked chain. Her mother had given it to her, and her mother's mother had given it to her. It was originally a gift from her grandfather to her grandmother. She hadn't had a daughter, so she gave it to him and told it to give it to the woman he loved, whenever he met her.

He didn't even have to look at his mother to know she was smiling, and a smile came to his face too.

"Well you told me I could give it to anyone I wanted," he told her, "so technically it's not yours anymore."

"You're right," she said. "It's hers, and one day it'll be Hayden's. Did she like it?"

"Are you kidding me?" he said sarcastically. "She cried for like an hour when I gave it to her." Blythe laughed a little, and he got quiet, not really liking to talk about _'mushy'_ stuff.

"I think you made a good choice," she told him, "but even more than that, I think you made the right choice. I can tell you two really love each other."  
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He opened the door to find her pacing the living room cuddling Hayden against her chest, who was no more than five seconds away from drifting back off into baby dreamland. She glared at him for few seconds. She had been thoroughly pissed with him for the last couple of days and he would have thought that it was funny if he had only known what he had done to piss her off. She rolled her eyes at him, and placed a gentle kiss on the baby's forehead before ascending the stairs. He just shook his head as he followed her.

She went into the nursery to lay the baby down and he went into the bathroom to take a shower. When he got out, he lied down in the bed next to her. He tried to wrap his arm around her to pull her closer, but she just moved away from him. He turned to lie on his back. He stared up at the ceiling thinking, going through all of the possibilities of things he could have done wrong, but he came up with nothing that was really major. He started thinking about what his mother had said, and figured it was worth a shot. He had a day off the following week, and thought it best to spend it at home with her and the baby, doing whatever she wanted.  
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She got up from the rocking chair and placed the now sleeping baby into her crib. It was still dark outside and she was exhausted. Though, not as exhausted as she normally was since the baby had been home. Either she was getting used to getting four good hours of sleep every night or the baby was starting to sleep more through the night. She was almost five weeks old and was starting to become more active when she was awake. She was also starting to sleep in longer intervals and stay up a little longer too.

Lisa went into the bedroom and saw that it was almost six. She got in the bed and shook Greg gently trying to wake him up. She was still angry with him, but she wasn't going to let him miss a day of work. He sucked in a deep breath through his nose and started to move around. He didn't open his eyes, but she knew he was awake.

"Get up, it's almost six," she told him. "You're going to be late for work."

"I'm off today," he grumbled almost incoherently, his eyes remaining closed. He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist and buried his face in her breasts. She was about to push him away, but he pulled back and laid his head on her shoulder. "I'm spending the day at home with you guys." He settled in a comfortable position, still holding her close and drifted off back into a deep sleep.

A smile came to her face as she realized what he had said. She was happy that he was going to spend the day with them. It was going to give them more time together, which they rarely had because of his schedule and his going out with friends. They may have even been able to get some alone time, during Hayden's nap. Although she wouldn't get the doctor's okay to have sex again until her check up in three weeks, she still missed just cuddling and talking with him. She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes, trying to get a couple of more hours of sleep before she was up for the day.  
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She woke a few hours later to see that the sun had come up. She also heard some gurgling coming over the speaker of the baby monitor. She smiled to herself at hearing the baby's now more pronounced cooing. She extracted herself from Greg's arms and went into the nursery to see Hayden staring up at the mobile that hung above her crib as she continued to coo, seemingly having a conversation with the baby animals that dangled from the strings. She watched the baby for a while amazed at how fast she was growing and developing. And though she couldn't wait until she was able to interact more with her baby, she knew she would miss these days no matter how tired she was.

She walked over to the edge of the crib and peeped over bringing her face into the baby's view. The little girls eye's immediately went to her face and a toothless smile ceased the cooing. Lisa couldn't help the smile that came to her face at seeing her baby's first real smile.

"Come here my sweet girl," she said reaching into the crib. She picked her up and she immediately began gurgling and grunting again. "You wanna watch Mommy make breakfast?" The baby only cooed and Lisa began talking again. "Maybe we'll make Daddy some too since he's decided to stop being an idiot," the baby only smiled again causing another smile to come to her mother's face. She knew that the baby didn't understand what she was saying and that she was probably just happy that someone was responding to her coos because the mobile animals weren't, but she could pretend.

Greg awoke forty five minutes later to the smell of bacon eggs and pancakes. He realized that Lisa was no longer lying next to him and knew that she must be the reason. He climbed slowly out of bed and went into the bathroom to complete his morning routine. He then went downstairs to find Lisa sitting at the table eating and reading the paper as Hayden lay in the bouncer on the floor on side her staring up at the plush animals the hung from the soft beam above her head. He went into the kitchen and fixed himself a plate, thankful that she had left him something. He sat down in the chair adjacent to her and looked down at the baby who was now looking straight up at him.

"'Mornin' small stuff," he said making the little girl coo again. He then turned to Lisa who still held the paper in front of her face.  
He began eating, waiting to see if she would acknowledge his presence. After a few minutes of her ignoring him, he turned back to the baby. "Looks like I'll have to talk to you all day since Mommy's still mad at me."

She took the paper down from in front of her face to reveal a playful smirk. "I'm not mad at you," she told him, "well, not anymore I'm not."

"Good," he told her, "because I can't really understand what tubby there is saying," he said referring to the baby's increasing weight gain. She was beginning to get those cute little baby rolls. Her cheeks where filling out more and getting puffier. They were starting to see why everyone else found baby fat so adorable.

They sat to the table and talked a little while longer until Hayden began to get cranky. Lisa took her upstairs and fed her while Greg washed the dishes from breakfast. He did as he said and spent the rest of the day at home with them.

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It was almost night fall and he was lying on the sofa with Lisa lying between his legs with her back resting on his chest. She had Hayden lying on her chest and they were playing with the baby, amazed with the things she could do now that she couldn't do only a week ago, like hold her head up for a little while, which she was currently doing.

"I'm telling you her head's too big," Greg said as the baby rested her head on her mother's chest, giving her little neck a rest.

"Stop," Lisa said with a small laugh, "her head's not too big."

"For her neck it is," he told her.

"All babies," she started but he cut her off.

"…heads are too big."

She smiled and elbowed him playfully in the ribs and she watched the little girl as she started to raise her head again. Her head rose slowly off of Lisa's chest and swayed a little as she fought to keep control of her neck.

"Ewww," Greg said as a string of drool came from the her mouth. She only smiled as Lisa grabbed the cloth diaper and wiped it away.

"Daddy's being a meanie, isn't he?" she said causing the little girl to coo again.

The phone started ringing. Lisa leaned up so he could reach over and grab it off of the coffee table. She leaned back into his chest as he resumed his position back on the sofa and pressed talk on the telephone.

"Hello?"

"Hey man," he heard Steven's voice come over the speaker. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much," he replied. "At home lying around."

"Wanna grab a drink with us?"

"Sure. Where?"

"Charlie's, at seven," Steven told him.

"I'll be there."

The smile on Lisa's face disappeared. She could tell from the beginning of the conversation that it wasn't going to end up the way she wanted it. The '_I'll be there_' just confirmed it. He hung up the phone and began to get up from off of the sofa. She got up behind him and secured Hayden in her bouncer before following him up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"To Charlie's with Steve," he told her nonchalantly.

She let out a small laugh of disbelief. "I don't believe you." He just looked up at her, not really sure of what she was talking about. "Here I was thinking you had finally gotten it, but you haven't."

"Gotten what?" he asked a little annoyed at her tone and at the point that he was clearly still in the dark about something.

"Gotten the point that you shouldn't be running out all the time with your friends," she told him.

"I don't run out all the time," he told her.

"Yes," she started, "you do. You act like nothing has changed, you still have your same routine, you come when you please and you leave when you please."

"Well yeah," he said sarcastically. "That's kinda the way it works when you're a grown up."

"Well that's not the way it works when you're a father," she told him as he pulled the t-shirt over his head. "Greg, we're not at Michigan anymore, things are not the same as they were when I first moved here. We have a baby."

"So what does that mean?" he asked her. "That I'm supposed to ask you for permission for everything I do before I do it."

"No," she yelled back. "That's not what I'm saying. I just want you to be a little bit more considerate of our situation. I'm at home with the baby all day, I can't really go anywhere I used to go or do anything that I wanna do without tending to her first, and in case you haven't noticed, I haven't really been going anywhere out side of the house."

It was true. The first couple of weeks, she didn't go anywhere because of the stitches and she didn't want to bring the baby out in public just yet. After that, the only places she had really gone where to places she needed to go to mostly run errands. She still didn't really want to have the baby out too much before her eight week check up.

"Okay, so you want me to ask for permission for everything I do before I do it," he repeated, letting her know he didn't see the difference. "Well I'm sorry it's not going to work like that. Just because you had a baby…"

"Just because I had a baby?" she yelled cutting him off as she got even angrier. "I didn't just have any baby, I had _YOUR _baby. I've been taking care of _your_ baby, and getting up at all times of night with _your_ baby while _you_ slept and partied with your friends."

"She's not just my kid," he yelled at her.

"I know that," she yelled back. "But I've been doing my part and your part if you ask me." She wasn't complaining. She loved taking care of the baby and being at home with her, but she just wanted him to be there a little more, to be a little more involved, to act like they were more important than grabbing a couple of beers with his friends at the local bar. Or at least show her a little appreciation.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm not father of the fucking year," he yelled back at her. "I never even expected to have this kid then you go and forget to take your pills like you shoul…," he stopped when he saw the anger on her face turn to sadness and hurt as tears started to well in her eyes.

"Oh my God," she said as she looked away from him and held her hand up to her mouth. She looked back up at him as a tear fell down her cheek. "I can't believe you just said that." She couldn't help the tears that were falling.

"Shit," he said to himself, realizing what he had just said. He hadn't meant to say that, he definitely didn't regret having the baby. The words had come out wrong, in the wrong order, and the tone of his voice hadn't helped either. What he had meant to say was that he was just having a little trouble adjusting to the idea of being a father. They both knew that the baby wasn't planned, and they hadn't even had a full nine months to plan for the baby since they found out she was pregnant when she was already two and half months along. Then expecting a baby is totally different from having one in the house. He had thought he was doing pretty good, but clearly he wasn't. "Lisa that's not what I meant to say," he started again, as he tried to reach out to her. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Get the hell away from me," she said, pushing him away. She kept pushing him. "Go Greg. Leave. You want to go out with your friends then don't let us keep you here. Go out with your fucking friends."

"Lisa, listen to me" he tried again, but she just pushed him harder.

"I said leave," she gave him one last push out of the bedroom door before closing it and locking it.

She leaned against the door and slid to the floor as she broke down and let all the tears she had been holding back come forth. She couldn't believe what he had just said. He regretted the baby. What was supposed to be the most valuable thing to him, the baby she had carried inside of her for nine months, the life they had created together, the one thing she loved the most in the world and he regretted it. He had said that he didn't mean it but he had said it. She couldn't describe the amount of pain she was feeling, if not for herself then for her little girl. Maybe her father had been right, maybe he was no good for her or anyone else for that matter. She faintly heard him banging on the door, the sound of her head pounding drowning him out. She couldn't believe what she had gotten herself into. She had had a baby with a guy that didn't even want the baby or her for that matter.

He continued banging on the door, though he knew it was a very slim chance of her opening it. "Lisa open the door please," he begged. "Baby I didn't mean it like that, it came out wrong." He heard Hayden start to cry down stairs, probably from all of the loud commotion they were making. He hit the door one last time in anger and cursed himself, before heading down to check on her.

When he got to the bouncer he saw that she had a stream of tears running down her face and her eyes where shut tight and her mouth was wide open allowing the high pitched wails to echo throughout the room. He hurriedly scooped her up and cradled her to his chest.

"Shhhh, it's okay," he said rocking her gently as he scanned the room for her pacifier. "Daddy's got you." His eyes quickly found the light pink and beige pacifier sitting on the bar. He went over and grabbed it and quickly put it in her mouth, holding it there until she stopped crying enough to realize that it was there. She almost immediately stopped crying and latched on to the pacifier. "There you go," he told her as he began to rock her back and forth, "I didn't mean it," he remembered Lisa was still locked in the bedroom upstairs. "I was just being a fucking asshole…," he mumbled. "I bet your mother hates me right about now... and you probably would too if you'd heard what I just said."

The little girl only looked up at him staring at him intently as her hand wrapped around his index finger he had offered her for extra comfort. He took notice to how her whole hand didn't fully go around one of his fingers and a smile appeared on his face. He looked back to her face just as she smiled at his gesture, still holding the pacifier in her mouth. Suddenly, seeing his daughter smile at him,made him realize something. He didn't have an urge to go out anymore. He walked over to the sofa and sat down. He looked into her blue eyes and saw that they were starting to get lighter and look a little more grayer than they had when she had first born. "You're going to have your mother's eyes," he told her. "Good thing looks don't kill or I'd be twice as dead. "

He tried to remove his finger from her hand, but she held on tighter. She shifted a little bit in his arms, as if getting a little more comfortable, and her eyes started to grow heavy. Before long she had drifted off to sleep. He followed not too long behind, still holding her securely in his arms.


	31. Chapter 30

He walked into the house and a feeling of dread went through his body. They had been fighting or not talking to each other for the past week. Well, he tried to talk to her civilly. She would just ignore him or if she answered, they would end up arguing. He put his bag down on the sofa and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. When he passed by the trashcan, he saw the breakfast that he had left for her that morning along with the letter he had left apologizing again torn up into pieces. It looked like she hadn't touched the food. He let out a sigh, before getting up the strength to go up the stairs where he knew she would be, probably studying since school had started again.

He got to the bedroom door and saw her lying on the bed reading a book and Hayden lying next to her asleep.

"Hey," he said, trying to initiate a conversation.

"Hey," she answered dryly, not even looking up at him.

"What time did you say your appointment was for tomorrow?"

"Two," she said just as coldly.

"You want me to keep the baby?"

"No, I'll pick her up after I'm done."

He took that as a sign that their issue still wasn't going to get resolved just yet.

He grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from the drawers on the dresser and went into the bathroom to take a shower. When he came out, he saw that Lisa had left the room and that Hayden was now awake. She was lying on her back in the middle of the bed sucking hungrily on her fists. He smiled and walked over to the bed and picked her up.

"Hey smurf," he said after the baby had made eye contact with him. "You hungry?"

A few seconds later, Lisa came back into the bedroom with a bottle of breast milk that was left over from the bag she had packed that morning to take the baby to the day care nursery.

"I've got it," she said reaching for Hayden. He responded by shifting away from her so she couldn't take the baby. She just stared at him.  
"Give her to me, I'm about to feed her," she told him.

He was becoming more and more upset with her every time they argued, especially about the baby. He knew that the whole thing was his fault, but he had apologized numerous times. He had explained himself numerous times, telling her that he didn't mean what he had said. That it was a semantic mishap, and that she had misunderstood what he was saying. Obviously she didn't believe him, because each time he explained she rolled her eyes and walked away from him.

She barely wanted him to touch the baby. If he regretted the baby, then she didn't want him to do anything pertaining to her. She could do it all on her own. She was trying to show him that she didn't need him to help take care of her child if he didn't want to help. And although he had explained many of times that he wanted to be there and he wanted to help, she still couldn't get over what he had said.

"You're studying," he told her, a little annoyed at her wanting to snatch Hayden away from him. "You can't feed her and study at the same time."

"I'm not going to feed her and study at the same time. I'm going to feed her then finish studying," she told him, getting a little more angry herself at the tone of his voice.

"So you're just going to do it all yourself and push me out of the picture?"

"I'm not pushing you out of the picture, and yes, I will do it all by myself if I have to."

"Then have fun failing out of med school," he told her.

She just gave him a look that said 'whatever' and held her hands out for the baby. He replied by taking the bottle from her and walking out of the room with the baby. She rolled her eyes at him, but decided not to start an argument. She didn't like arguing when the baby was awake or in the same room and it made no sense to make the baby wait any longer for her food because of their disagreement.

* * *

"Everything seems to be fine, Lisa," Dr. Grey told her. "You're ready to go for baby number two."

"I don't think so," she said smiling a little at his joke. He laughed a little.

"Tell Greg he should stop by my office, I haven't talked to him in weeks."

"I'll tell him," she said, knowing she probably wasn't because they weren't really talking.

"I'll see you later," he said exiting the room.

She redressed and headed out of the exam room to the front desk to pay her co-pay. The nurse pulled up her file and she handed her the money.

"You had a phone call while you were in with the doctor," the nurse started as she handed her the receipt. "From Greg. He said that he already picked up your daughter so you don't have to go and get her."

"Kay, thanks," she said leaving out of the office.

She went up to the fourth floor, where she knew Greg would be. She was a little upset that he had gone and gotten Hayden after she had told him that she would, but she couldn't help but to be a little happy that she didn't have to drive ten minutes from the hospital in the opposite direction of their home in order to pick up the baby. She wouldn't let him know that though.

When she walked into the huge office space that the residents shared, it was almost empty. She walked over to the row of cubicles that where next to the wall and went down to the third one. When she got there, she saw that Greg was slightly slouched in his seat, allowing Hayden to sleep comfortably on his chest, while he read over a file he had in his hands.

"Hey," he said setting the file down when he saw her.

"You didn't have to go and get her, I told you I would," she told him.

"I know I didn't have to," he started as he picked the baby up off of his chest to place her in the carrier that lay on the floor next to him. He could tell that Lisa was really in a rush or maybe she just wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. "I wanted to. I don't get to spend much time with her. "

"Well it never seemed to bother you before," she mumbled, but loud enough for him to hear.

He just stared at her as she secured the baby in the carrier. She stood up and began grabbing all of the things he had taken out of the baby bag and began putting them all back in.

"I don't know what you want me to do," he told her. "I don't know how many times in how many different ways that I can say I'm sorry. I've already explained to you that I didn't mean it the way that it came out."

"People don't say things they don't mean," she said taking time to shoot him a mean glare.

"Yeah, but people say things that are misinterpreted everyday," he countered. "I'm trying…I'm trying to help you, I wanna help you. I wanna be involved in her life, but you won't let me do anything. Every time I do I either get pushed out of the way or I get bitched out about it. What do you want me to do?"

She just looked at him trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She shook her head and grabbed the bag and the carrier and headed out of the office.

He sighed and calmed himself before he turned back to the document in his hands, trying to forget about the drama he would face when he went home that evening.

* * *

"Mom, I don't know what to do," she said into the speaker.

"Lisa, I don't know what to tell you to do. Do you still love him?"

"Of course I do," she said as she placed her finger in Hayden's palm. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face when the girl instantly brought both her hand and her finger to her mouth. "But, we've been fussing for almost two weeks. We barely even talk to each other and when we do it always turns into an argument."

"Well sweetie, relationships are like that. You have to work at them, it won't be easy."

"I know that," she replied, "but I still can't believe he said that."

"Well didn't he apologize?"

"Yes, but I still can't help but to think that somewhere deep down inside, he actually meant what he said."

"I understand your concerns, but you've told me that he said he didn't mean it. You've told me that he has stopped going out and that he tries to help you a lot more." She was quiet on the other end of the phone. "The ball's in your court honey, you have to decide if you are going to forgive him or not."

"I don't know what to do."

"He said that he wants to be there, give him a chance, see how things go."

She got quiet again. She did still want to be with him, but she wasn't sure that he wanted to be with her after what he had said. He had told her that he did, and tried to show her through his actions, but his words had cut her deeply. She was starting to think that maybe she had misunderstood what he had said, and maybe she should stop giving him such a hard time. She looked down at Hayden who was just staring up at the ceiling making faces to herself, and smiled. She didn't want to rob either of them of having the other in their lives. She knew that she was pushing him away, but that was only because she felt like she was being pushed away. Maybe he did deserve another chance.

She heard the front door open and looked over the balcony to see Greg walking into the living room with a couple of bags.

"I gotta go Mom, I'll talk to you later. I love you."

She heard her mother's 'I love you too' before she hung up the phone. She picked the baby up that lay in her lap and stood up looking down at him.

"Hey," he said looking up at her.

"Hi," she answered a little softer than she had been doing the last few weeks.

"I bought dinner," he said holding up the huge brown paper bag he had in his hands.

"I'll be down in a minute," she said before disappearing from the balcony. She went into the nursery to give Hayden a quick diaper change before she headed down to join him for dinner.

They didn't talk much while they ate, but to his relief, they were actually sharing a decent meal without her using his steak knife to try and carve his heart out of his chest.

* * *

Greg got on the elevator and pressed the number three. He was heading up to the pediatric ward for Hayden's two month check up. Lisa had told him that it would be alright if he didn't attend, but he wanted to. They had been on better terms for the last couple of weeks, but that wasn't saying much. They were just able to be civil around each other and not argue all the time. He knew that he was still in hot water and didn't want to do anything to mess it up. He walked through the door to the front of the office and spoke to the nurse sitting behind the front desk.

"Hey Margret, do you know which room Lisa's in?"

"The second one on the right," she told him pointing to one of the corridors.

"Thanks," he said as he headed in the direction she had pointed.  
He tapped on the door lightly before opening it. He peeped in and saw Lisa with Hayden perched on her lap. She was writing something in her schedule book while simultaneously trying to keep the end of the ink pen away from Hayden who had her mouth wide open trying to put the end of the shiny blue pen in her mouth.

He laughed at the site and she looked up at him. Neither of them had time to say anything before Dr. Johanssen pushed the door open a little more and stepped in.

"Get out of the way," he joked with Greg already knowing him from his previous time spent at the hospital. "Good morning," he said smiling at Lisa and the baby. She returned his smile.

"I'm flattered I got the better greeting of the two," Greg said sarcastically.

"Well that's the thanks you get for personally choosing me as your baby's pediatrician," he told him.

"As if I would trust any of these other quacks with the smurf," he told him.

"You know Greg, you really shouldn't talk about your senior doctors like that," the man told him knowing it wouldn't help.

"Oh, I'm sorry, other Dr. Quacks," he corrected, as he began to preoccupy himself with the tiny baby inspecting objects in the room.

Dr. Johanssen just shook his head and laughed as he once again turned to Lisa. "You're a brave woman." She gave him a weak smile, knowing her and Greg still weren't on the best of terms. He then turned to the baby. "Hello there," he said stooping a little, drawing Hayden's attention to him. Her eyes locked onto his. "I haven't seen you in a couple of months." Hayden only cooed eagerly at his enthusiastic words.

"Well I don't have to ask how she's responding to face to face interactions," he said with a smile as the baby looked up at him waiting for another enthusiastic outburst from him.

"Yeah, she's quite the talker," Lisa said, having had a number of conversations with the baby herself. She walked over to the exam table and sat the baby down, holding her up since she still couldn't sit up by herself. Hayden only preoccupied herself with the noisy paper that lay under her.

The doctor began examining the baby as he started asking Lisa questions about her eating habits and her elimination cycles and her sleeping cycles. How active was she when she was awake and other things like that. He took out a little light pen and held it in front of the baby. He moved it to the right and she followed. He moved it to the left and she still followed. He repeated the actions a few more times before he brought the light closer to her face. She responded by opening her mouth and leaning forward thinking she was going to get to eat it, drawing laughter from all the adults in the room.

"Hayden, you just ate," Lisa said still laughing a little.

"We just have the greediest kid in the world that's all," Greg said still smiling at the chubby baby in Lisa's arm.

"Ah, it's just the beginning of this stage," Dr. Johanssen said. "For the next few months and probably longer, anything she can get her hands on will go straight to her mouth. It's one of the ways they explore the world around them." He opened her chart and began to look at it, while adding a few notes. "I see her hearing test came back fine. Twelve pounds three ounces, twenty-two and one fourth inches, she seems to be growing sufficiently." He read over it a little more. "Everything looks fine. From what I can tell, you have a perfectly healthy baby."

Lisa smiled at him, happy to hear that nothing had come up since he had last inspected her when she was first born. "Do you have any questions?" he continued.

"Yes, is there anything, anything at all that can be done for colic," she asked with desperation in her voice. She had already lost more than enough hours of sleep and valuable study time due to the mysterious condition.

"No," he said empathetical, already having had plenty of other mothers ask the same questions. "I'm sorry. Every baby seems to have a different relief from it or sometimes no relief at all. You just have to figure out the best way for you and your baby to deal with it."

She nodded, understanding. She had known this, but she was hoping that there was some kind of recent breakthrough that would save her from having to endure another near sleepless night.

"Now all we have left is the immunization shots," he said opening up one of the drawers on the cabinet in the room. "Who's going to volunteer to hold her still?"

They both looked at Greg who in return looked back at them like they were crazy and letting them know that he would have no part in doing this to his baby girl.

"I guess I'm stuck with doing the dirty work," Lisa said preparing to restrain the baby's limb in order for her to get the injections.

The baby was oblivious to what was about to happen and was happily blowing raspberries into the air, not caring that her mother's grip had become sufficiently tighter around her left leg. That however was short lived and came to an end when she felt the needle piercing her skin. A look of shock overtook her face for about a half of a second before she began wailing loudly. Lisa only rubbed her stomach reassuringly while still holding on tightly to her leg knowing there were more shots to be administered.

"Shhh," she whispered to the baby as she kissed the side of her temple. "It's okay."

Dr. Johanssen administered the rest of the vaccinations as Hayden wailed uncontrollably, now turning red letting them know that the cry of discomfort was being partially replaced by one of anger.

"Aww what'd they do to daddy's little angel," Greg said taking the baby from Lisa's arm and holding her to his chest careful not to bump or brush any of the offending limbs the wrong way. She just continued to cry loudly as he rubbed her back and let her know that he agreed that her mother and Dr. Johanssen were wrong and evil people.

The two of them just looked at each other. Lisa rolled her eyes sarcastically as Dr. Johansen just smiled. He had seen the situation many of times, the mother having to do the heart wrenching deed while the father came in later and played the part of the savior, especially with their little girls. He had figured this was where the 'Daddies' girls' came from.

After a few nurses had come in to check on the wailing baby and offer her their sympathetic words, she had finally quieted down. They left the office and Greg walked Lisa out to the parking garage. Hayden had fallen asleep in his arms and he placed the sleeping baby in the car seat in the back of the car.

"See ya later," he told her as she climbed in behind the driver's seat.

"See ya," she said smiling at him weakly.

It was a small gesture, but he was making strides. He had gone from all negative and attack mode, to indifference, now she was actually being positive towards him. Maybe that one stupid comment he made wouldn't be the end of them after all, he thought to himself as he headed back into the hospital.

* * *

"Hayden, please?" Lisa begged as she looked into the face of the crying baby as she sat on the circular futon. "I can't do this again tonight. Mommy has class in the morning."

She had spent almost the entire night before up with the baby. She was colicky and her crying was relentless. It was now a Sunday night and she had to get up early to go to class the next day. She was saying that she couldn't do it, but truth be told, she had no other choice.

She sighed and got up and began pacing the floor, rubbing the baby's back again. After a few laps around the large balcony space the baby began to quiet down a little and drifted off to sleep. Lisa knew as soon as she stopped walking that the silence would only last for about five minutes. Walking seemed to be her daughter's soother, but you had to be awake to walk. You also had to be awake to pass your second year of medical school. That would have been fine if sleep wasn't required regularly between those wakeful periods.

She saw Greg coming up the stairs. She hadn't even heard him come in.  
"Again?" he asked.

She just nodded as a few tears came to her eyes. She didn't let them fall though, and turned her attention back to the baby. He just tossed his bag on the desk chair and went into the bedroom to shower.  
She figured that he was going to go to sleep, but he emerged from the bedroom about fifteen minutes later with a pair of blue striped pajama pants.

"I've got her," he said reaching for the baby. She looked at him hesitantly before reluctantly handing over the baby. "Get some sleep," he told her. "You've got class in the morning. I go in late tomorrow."

She looked at him one last time, thankful that he had offered to be the one to stay up with the baby. They still weren't on the best of terms, but they were working towards it. The night before, he had gotten home around twelve but had to get up and go back in for five thirty. He had hardly gotten any sleep the days before and she had not wanted to bother him seeing that he would have probably passed out trying to stay awake. She went into the bedroom, and was asleep within ten minutes.  
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She woke the next morning only to find Greg asleep on the futon with Hayden lying peacefully on top of his chest. He looked exhausted, even though he was asleep. She smiled to herself at the sight. She thought it was cute. The little girl already getting the best of her father who was obviously head over heals in love with her.

She went over and sat down beside him on the futon. She ran her fingers through his hair and whispered his name a few times before he woke up.

"Hm," he grumbled still not opening his eyes.

"You should get in bed," she told him.

"I must have walked eight miles last night," he told her. "I am not taking another step until I have to."

She smiled sympathetically, having gone through his pain only the night before, and reached for the baby. "I'll take Hayden." She was going to go get the baby ready to go to daycare but he stopped her.

"I'll bring her to the nursery when I go in this evening," he told her. She smiled knowing that he was just trying to make her hectic mornings getting her and the baby together to leave the house a little easier.

"Thanks," she told him giving him a small peck on the corner of his lips. "That should allow me to get another half hour of sleep, at least."

"Well get to it than woman," he said wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer.

She only smiled as she laid her head on his chest and dozed off again.


	32. Chapter 31

"Where is your father?" Lisa asked a little frustrated as she tried to study with Hayden on her lap. It was a little hard since she kept having to stop and readjust the baby every time she almost twisted out of her grasp reaching for something, mainly the pages in her notebook. She had tried to lay her down on her blanket so she could play, but she would cry every time Lisa walked away. She had finally settled for studying while holding the baby, since Greg was late, but that wasn't working out too well. He had called to say that he had gotten caught up at the hospital and that he was on his way home. She had told him that he needed to hurry so she could at least get a little studying done.

"Hayden, no," she said frustrated as she grabbed the highlighter from the baby's hand before she could get it to her mouth. She instantly started crying and Lisa let out an exasperated sigh, before standing up and walking around with her. She thought that she might have been hungry since she hadn't eaten in a few hours and went upstairs to feed her.

She was actually happy that Greg was there to help, and cringed at the idea that she had offered of doing everything on her on. Hayden was getting older and she was starting to move around more and require more active attention. Things between them were gradually getting better. They were talking more and he was still helping all that he could with Hayden. She didn't even have to ask him a lot of the times. Although the tension had eased in the house, there was still a little in the bedroom. They had not had sex since before Hayden was born. Every time they would get close to having sex, she would stop him. He would back off and say that he understood, but she knew that he was only trying not to upset her after what he had said about the baby. She could sense the tension within him and his _alone time_ in the bathroom every time she pushed him away let her know further that he wasn't really okay with the lack of sex between them. She wanted to have sex with him, and she physically had the desire to, but what he had said was still stuck in the back of her mind. She felt bad about denying him, but she still was not satisfied with the whole situation. She had gotten mad and they went from not talking to gradually talking to back to the way it used to be, but they still had not talked about what had happened, about how she felt about what he had said. She just hoped that she would quickly get over it emotionally.

She had just finished feeding the baby when she heard him call for her from down stairs.

"Finally," she said walking out onto the upstairs balcony. She looked down at him and saw that he didn't have scrubs on. She figured that he had showered at the hospital and was happy that she wouldn't have to wait for him to shower to study. She walked down the stairs and handed the baby over to him before going into the kitchen to make her a quick snack to eat while studying.

"Uh-oh," he said to the baby as he lied down on the sofa holding her up in the air. "Mommy's upset with you, what did you do?"

The little girl only smiled and swatted her hands at him, seemingly happy to see him after not seeing him since that morning.

"Did you stop her from studying?" he continued. "I think you should apologize," he said turning the baby so that she was facing towards the kitchen and wiggling her around a little. "Say '_I'm sorry Mommy'_."

Lisa looked over at her and couldn't help the smile that came to her face at seeing the huge smile on Hayden's face.

He flipped the baby back over so she was looking down at him again. He continued talking and playing with Hayden, holding her up in the air. Lisa looked up again and saw that the smile on Hayden's face had been replaced with a familiar uncomfortable look.

"Greg, I don't think you should be tossing her around like that," Lisa tried to warn him. "I just fed her."

"She likes it," he replied. "Go study and stop trying to kill our party."

"Greg I'm serious…," she tried, but he cut her off.

"I am too, she's fi…," he was cut off by a yellow tinted white liquid splattering down on his face.

Lisa gasped as she saw the fluid fall from Hayden's mouth, only guessing it had landed on Greg's face since he was hidden behind the back of the sofa. She looked at the now content and almost confused look on the baby's face and burst out into laughter at the sight she must have been looking down at. She grabbed the cloth diaper off of the bar stool and walked around to the other side of the sofa. She started laughing harder when she saw that parts of Greg's face and neck were covered with regurgitated breast milk.

"I told you to stop moving her around like that," she said almost incomprehensible as she continued laughing and started wiping the milk from his face. He did not see anything amusing about it and did not crack a smile. He sat up on the sofa a little and grabbed the diaper from her with his free hand and began wiping himself off, seeing as she was laughing to hard to do it sufficiently. He let her have her laugh as he wiped himself clean. He then wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt, and Lisa fell back onto the floor in a new fit of laughter after realizing that some of it had gotten into his mouth.

"It's not funny," he said, a smile coming to his face at realizing how amusing she found the whole situation. He looked down at the baby that sat on his lap and she looked up at him. Her only response was to let out a burp. "You did that on purpose," he told her. She just reached up and passed her little fingers over the stubble growing on his face.

He looked back down at Lisa who had finally gotten a little control over her laughter. "That was classic," she said wiping tears away from her eyes. "I needed that."

Before she could get up off of the floor she felt a warm larger body pressing down on top of her. She stopped laughing but the smile remained on her face as he pressed his lips to hers.

"Now that you've gotten what you needed," he said after pulling away. "Maybe you can give me something I've been needing for the past few weeks." He started placing small kiss all over her face before his mouth found his way to her neck. He began to suck on the flesh there as she moaned a little and ran her hands up and down his biceps. She opened her eyes when she felt his hand going up her shirt, his long fingers getting dangerously close to her bra.

"I don't think so," she said pulling his face away from the crook of her neck. She looked up into his clear blue eyes and felt a little guilty after seeing the mixture of disappointment and frustration there.

"Why not?" he asked sounding like a little boy.

"For one, the baby's right there," she said motioning to the blanket across from them where he had laid Hayden , "and I have to study."

She tried to get up, but he didn't adjust himself to let her from under him. He just looked down at her with a little more frustration in his eyes before finally allowing her to remove herself from his hold. She just grabbed her books and went upstairs to study as he busied himself playing with Hayden again.

* * *

Greg let out a sigh of contempt as he walked out of the administrative office. He had just finished getting reprimanded for verbally assaulting a patient's loved one. He walked back down the long corridor and to the nurse's station to grab another file to continue working.

"How'd it go?" Donna asked him as she signed off on one file and picked up another.

"Didn't get fired," he said nonchalantly.

"Yet," she told him jokingly, knowing her friend's reputation and disdain for most of his patients, or rather their families who liked to pretend that they knew more about medicine than the doctors. She shot him a smile before grabbing the file and heading off towards another exam room.

He stood at the nurses' station reading through the files, and putting the ones back that he didn't want. He didn't notice the cute little blond nurse that walked up to him.

"Hi, Dr. House," she said shyly.

"Hey,…" he said looking up at her and squinting his eyes a little.

"Melanie," she said helping him out.

"Ah, Melanie," he said. "It was on the tip of my tongue."

She only smiled. "One of my friend's and I are going out tonight with a few friends," she started. "I think your friend Steven is going to be there. Are you coming?"

"Nope," he said. "Sorry, I can't make it. I have a little midget at home I have to go and see about."

"Oh right," she said seemingly genuinely interested. "I forgot you had a daughter. How is she?"

"She's fine," he said with a smile at the thought of Hayden as he continued reading through the file he had in his hands. "She's getting a little demanding, but she get's that from her mom."

"You and her mother," the girl said hesitantly making him look up at her, "are you still together."

He looked at her and tilted his head to the side as a smirk came to his face. He had known that she was flirting with him since the beginning of the conversation, but her boldness was starting to intrigue him. He sat the file down and turned his full attention to her.

"Yeah," he said studying her reaction to him, "we're still together."

"Well lucky her," she said with a flirtatious smile. "But I sure wish you could come out with us."

"Maybe next time," he said, a little stunned at finding himself flirting back with her.

"Yeah, maybe," she said stepping a little closer to him. "I promise you'll have a great time."

He only smiled as she brushed against him as she walked away. He turned to watch her backside as she walked away, adding a little more sway in her hips, knowing he was watching.

"You better watch that wondering eye," he heard his friend's voice warn from behind him.

He tore his eyes away from the nurse and turned back to face Steven.

"I'm not the one going out with her and her friend now am I?" he countered.

"And I'm not the one with a girlfriend and a baby at home," he told him. "Therefore, I'm the one who gets to do whatever he wants without having to answer to anyone."

Greg didn't say anything, knowing he was right. But he couldn't get the idea of the offer out of his head. "What time are you guy's going out?"

Steven opened his mouth to say something, but instead just looked at him in disbelief. "Greg, trust me, leave this one up to me. I don't know what's going on between you and Lisa, but it'll get better soon."  
He had known that they had been having problems for the past few weeks, and he knew that things had gotten better. But Greg had confided in him that they still weren't having sex, and knowing his friend, he knew that bothered him a lot.

"What are you talking about?" Greg questioned. "I'm just trying to grab a few drinks with some friends."

"Yeah and a hot chick that's obviously into you."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," he replied sarcastically.

"Man don't go down this road," Steven warned one last time. "I'm telling you, you'll be sorry." With that he grabbed the file and walked back towards the exam room.

Greg decided that he would keep the file he had in his hand and went into the waiting area to call the patient whose name was on the chart.

* * *

Lisa laid the baby down in the bed next to Greg before she went into the bathroom to take her shower. He was still asleep, and she figured she would wake him up after she finished showering so he wouldn't be late for work. The baby had woke up and she figured it would be best to have her lying down next to him in case she started crying while she was in the shower, because he wouldn't hear her over the baby monitor.

She got out of the shower and put her clothes on. She grabbed a ponytail holder and started to pull her hair back into a ponytail as she walked out of the bathroom. She fell into a fit of laughter at the sight before her and Hayden jumped a little from the outburst before her eyes found her mother's face. She smiled at the obvious humor her mother found in something, not knowing that that something was her. She had taken the pacifier out of her mouth and was trying to put it into Greg's open mouth as he slept.

Lisa scooped the baby up, still laughing a little, and shook Greg gently, waking him up.

"Get up," she told him tossing a few more things in the diaper bag. "You're going to be late."

"Hey," he said stopping her before she exited out of the room. She turned to face him and adjusted the squirming baby on her hip. "You got anything going on tonight?" He knew it was a Friday and she didn't have class the next day and she wouldn't study as much.

"No," she told him waiting for his response.

"So it'd be okay if I go out for a drink after work?"

"No, I don't need you to babysit while I study," she told him playfully. "Go out, have fun. You just owe me one." She smiled at him and left out of the room.

She sat Hayden in her carrier and began to throw a few books into her back pack. She slung her backpack over one shoulder along with the diaper bag before picking up the carrier in the other hand.

"Greg!" she yelled one more time, knowing he had gone back to sleep.

"I'm up," he yelled groggily. She rolled her eyes and waited until she heard him shuffle into the bathroom before going downstairs and heading out of the door.

* * *

"Hey," Melanie said perkily, "I'm glad you made it."

He smiled at her and sat down at the table next to her. "Yeah, I pulled a few strings." He looked around at the other five people at the table. "Hey guys. What's up?"

Everyone greeted him except for Donna and Steven who just gave him questioning stares. He responded by stopping the waiter and ordering some cheese fries and a beer. Everyone around the table started their own conversations up again and he fell right in, mostly having a side conversation with Melanie since she was demanding all of his attention by directing her questions directly at him.

A few hours later and more than a few drinks later, everyone was gathering their things getting ready to go. By now a few of them including Melanie were a little too drunk to be trusted to get home by themselves.

"Can you take me home?" she asked with a huge grin as she latched onto Greg's arm.

"Don't be silly," Donna jumped in. "Laura can take you home."

"No, Laura's going home with me," Steven said trying to protect his score for the night.

Donna just rolled her eyes at him, feeling a little outdone at trying to solicit one of her dim male friends to help the other dim one.

"No, it's fine," Greg said. "I can take her."

"Fine, I'll take her," Donna offered.

"No, that's okay," Melanie said smiling up at him. "I don't mind Greg taking me."

They were about to walk off until Donna nudged Steven in the side hard with her elbow.

"Wait," he called behind them. "Mel we can take you home. It's on the way back to Laura's so…,"

"No," Melanie said, still hanging on to Greg's arm. "I wanna go with Greg." She said it in a tone that let them know that she had made up her mind.

He only looked back and smiled while stretching his at them.

"Poor idiot doesn't even know what he's getting himself into," Donna said mostly to herself.

"Well I tried to stop him," Steven offered. "If he messes up, I'll help him pick up the pieces. That's all a good friend can do." He grabbed Laura's hand and they left out of the pub.  
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"This one?" Greg said as he pulled up to one of the buildings on the street lined with apartments.

"Yeah," she told him.

He pulled over to the curb and parked the car. They just stared at each other for a while before she began speaking.

"Well aren't you going to make sure I make it in safely?" she asked him. "You know that's the only reason I picked you to take me home," she said leaning over so her face was closer to his. "I knew you would make sure I was tucked in safely."

She placed a lingering kiss on his lips. She took advantage of him being distracted and turned the car off taking the keys from the ignition. She smiled at him and got out of the car and went up to the door of the building they were parked in front of.

He smiled to himself. He wasn't upset about her taking the keys because he had planned to go in anyways…well he had been thinking about it.

Buy the time he got to the front door she had made it down the hall to the door that read 102. She unlocked the door and shot him a flirtatious smile before walking in the door, leaving it open for him to follow. By the time he made it into her living room and closed the front door, she had rid herself of her shoes and her coat, revealing the short skirt and skimpy blouse she wore beneath. He only stared, studying her body. It had been a long time since he had had sex and her long legs and large breasts along with her firm ass was starting to look pretty tempting to him. He only looked back into her face when he noticed her making her way over to him.

"You know Dr. House," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a small kiss on his lips. His hands instinctively went to the sides of her waist, as he let his fingers caress the skin that had been exposed when the shirt had ridden up. "I have always been attracted to you. But you never seemed to notice me." She nipped at his lips again.

"Oh, believe me," he said as she took one of his hands and slid it lower, letting it slid gently over her backside until he reached the exposed skin right on the back of her thighs, right below her skirt. "I noticed." He smiled as she stood on her toes once more and pressed her lips to his. He had noticed her, but he just couldn't do anything about it. He was in a committed relationship. But none of that seemed to matter at that moment since his natural instincts to get laid was overriding the cognitive parts of his brain.

His hands started sliding further up until they started to caress her ass through the thin fabric of her panties. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He carried her down the hall and she put her hand out and grabbed the frame of the second door down the hall, letting him know that that was her bedroom. He walked into the room and his knees hit the bed causing him to fall forward. He caught himself before his full weight fell on her and he began attacking her neck.

She began letting out soft moans as she began grinding her hips against his growing erection. His nimble fingers found their way down to her panties. She gasped when he felt him peel them away and moaned when she felt his fingers brush against her soft folds. "Oh…Greg."

* * *

*gasp* duhn duhn duhhnnn


	33. Chapter 32

"Shit," he cursed himself as he hit the steering wheel . It was late and he was on his way home with images that he didn't want to remember flashing through his mind. His mouth on hers, hands caressing places that they shouldn't have been. Luckily he had stopped himself before he had gone all the way. She had moaned out his name and it hit him that her voice wasn't the one he was supposed to be hearing. He wasn't supposed to be there with her. He was supposed to be at home, with his family. He had told her that he couldn't go through with it and she persuaded him to just stay and talk for a while, knowing he had something on his mind. He had lied in her bed and they had talked for a while. She had offered him something that Lisa didn't seem to want to offer him as of lately, and that was intimacy. He didn't know when he became the needy type, but hell even fake intimacy was better than none. He had lost track of time and hadn't planned on telling Lisa what had happened, but he knew he would have to tell her something now that he was getting home so late. He opted for telling her the truth, knowing that it would somehow get back to her anyways. She was at the hospital on a daily basis, and although she wasn't around him or the people he worked with much, she was close enough. He knew that news around the hospital traveled fast, especially among the med students and residents. Not that Melanie would put it out to try and get him in trouble, but she would no doubt confidentially tell her best friend Laura. Laura would then do the same with someone else and before you knew it, everyone would know, including the medical students. They would get the news about one of the residents 'sleeping' with the hot nurse while he was supposed to be dating the MS2 that had the baby for him. And although he hadn't slept with her, he knew that was how the story would go.

He pulled up in front of their building and got out, before slowly making his way up to the third floor. He tried to sneak in quietly, but all hope of that was gone when he walked into the living room and saw her sitting on the sofa with red eyes. She immediately stood up and turned to him.

"Where have you been?" she asked him.

He didn't answer right away. He stared at her, rethinking his idea to tell her the truth. Clearly she already knew something was up. She knew that he wasn't at the hospital. He would never come home that late without calling her, and clearly she didn't have to worry about him being hurt anymore since he was standing in front of her with all his health.

"I was out having drinks," he said diverting his eyes towards the floor, as he started to walk closer to her. "I told you that." He had planned on walking past her, but she stepped in front of him. They were only an inch apart at that time.

"Well why didn't you call and tell me you would be this late?"

"Because," he told her. "I don't know. I just lost track of time." He tried to go past her again, but she again stopped him.

She stared him in the eyes trying to see if he was telling the truth. The fact that he looked away would have tipped her off if she hadn't smelled the cheap perfume coming from his clothes. Not that she needed to be tipped off she just needed conformation. He heard her take a deep breath and looked up to see tears brimming in her eyes as she choked back more tears. She gathered herself a little and looked back at him as a couple of the tears fell down her cheeks. She had only one question.

"Who is she?"

He just looked at her not saying anything. He took a deep breath and blew it out. He wouldn't lie to her. That would only keep him from telling the truth later.

"Nothing happened ," he told her as he tried to walk past her once more.

"Nothing happened?" she questioned in disbelief. "You come home smelling like another woman and you expect me to believe that nothing happened."

"Look, believe what you want," he told her in a more hostile tone. "It's not like anything I say is going to make a difference anyway. You've already made up your mind that I've cheated on you, so it doesn't matter that I didn't because you are going to use it as a reason to pull away from me because that's what you want."

"That's not what I want," she said a little surprised by the tone he was taking with her.

"Oh, really Lisa," he asked her. "That's all you do. Admit it. You don't want me around anymore. Nothing I do is good enough for you anymore. I apologized hundreds of times for what happened with the baby, you just pushed that to the side. I do everything I possibly can to make it easier on you with school and taking care of her. Yeah I fucked up in the begging and I realize my mistakes. I apologized for it and I'm here. I'm here every time you need me to be here. But you don't even care. You just focus on the mistakes I've made, the shit I screwed up. You just conveniently treat me like the help. I don't get anything from you. No kind of feelings, nothing. So yes someone was willing to have sex with me tonight, and I don't see why that would bother you because you can't stand for me to even touch you let alone have sex. But I didn't. I didn't have sex because I thought of you. I thought about how much it would hurt you, but I'm starting to doubt myself, because somehow I really don't think you'd be hurt if I had. You'd probably be happy that you have more ammunition against me."

She stood staring at him with her mouth opened and a tear stained face. She turned away from him and stared at the floor. She felt his angry eyes burning a whole through her. She had no idea that he had felt that way. She hadn't been trying to push him away. She was just trying to get her own emotions sorted out. She knew that he was a little sexually frustrated, but she hadn't meant to alienate him. She looked up when she heard his gruff voice speak again.

"I'm going to bed." He turned to go towards the stairs.

She knew she had to say something right then and there. If she didn't, she knew that their relationship would only go further downhill, probably to a point where it would not be salvageable. So she opened her mouth and said the only thing she could think of at the time.

"I'm sorry," she croaked out through the tears.

He stopped where he stood and hung his head. He slowly turned to face her. She looked him in the eyes and continued as the tears started to fall again.

"For making you feel unwanted. I wasn't pushing you away. I was just confused about everything... I started thinking about the baby and how our lives would be in the future and how your life might be different if I hadn't gotten pregnant. Your doubts made me a little scared. Maybe you would be happier. You would feel freer to do what you wanted." She knew that he was a the type of person that found joy and meaning in being able to just up and do whatever he wanted, without feeling morally tied to someone. "You don't know what it feels like. I started thinking," she sniffed trying not to break down and cry even more than she already was, "what if I had ruined the lives of two of the people that mattered most to me in the world. I felt awful, I still feel awful about it. She deserves better. Our little girl deserves better. She deserves parents that can have some type of solid idea about their future so we could at least give her somewhat of a stable environment to grow up in. But I guess …" she looked down at the floor as the tears started falling more freely.

He stood in the same spot taking in everything that she had just said. He took a couple of moments before he started making his way over to her. He snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her to him, letting her cry on his chest for a little while. He then began to speak.

"I'm sorry," he started off as he stroked her hair gently. "I didn't mean to make you think that I had doubts. I don't have doubts, well I do have doubts about a lot of things, but not like you think. You and the smurf are the best two things that ever happened to me. And that's why I know what it feels like to feel like you are ruining the lives of the two people that matter the most to you."

She pulled back from him only to look in his face as he continued talking.

"Every time I look at the two of you, I feel like I'm going to fail you guys. You deserve so much more than I can give to you and I don't even know how to start to compensate for that. I just don't want you to end up being miserable like my mother and I was when I wa…"  
She brought her hands up to his face and passed her thumb over his lips silencing him. She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his gently before pulling away.

"Don't ever think like that," she told him. "You are nothing like your father. You are so good with Hayden and she loves you. That's why she always turns her head every time she hears your voice or try to jump out of my arms every time you come home in the evening," she said smiling up at him.

He smiled back at her, thinking of how the little girl's eyes would stay on him until he picked her up. She would almost break her neck searching for him whenever she heard his voice after not seeing him all day. The smile slowly disappeared.

"What about you?" he asked her, making the mood a little more serious again. "I've hurt you a lot since we've been together."

She looked in his eyes as her thumb began to gently caress his cheek. She gave him a weary smile. "From what I can tell, we've been hurting each other… I guess that's something we both have to work on."

"Yeah, I guess so," he said as he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers again. He pulled back and looked into her eyes for reassurance. She looked him the eyes and smiled before her eyes traveled back down to his lips. She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his again.

He put his hands on her hips, pushing her backwards and they clumsily made their way up the stairs trying to undress each other as they made their way there. He succeeded in taking off her pants and she succeeded in taking off his shirt. He picked her up when they reached the top of the stairs and only made it a couple of clumsy steps before he fell backwards onto the large futon with her landing on top of him. They laughed a little at having landed so hard on the chair, and the fact that they almost missed the chair completely and hit the floor.

He pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her in her bra and panties, and she leaned forward pressing her lips to his again. He ran his finger tips up her sides savoring the feel of her smooth skin under his touch. He slipped his fingers behind her and reached for the clasp of her bra. She moaned into his mouth and reached behind her to grab his hands. He pulled his mouth away from hers.

"Aww com'on," he said thinking she had once again changed her mind about having sex with him.

"I'm still breastfeeding," she told him.

"And?"

"And, I'm still lactating."

"So, obviously it's not poisonous," he told her.

"Greg no," she told him. She could see that he was a little disappointed. She knew that the main reason he enjoyed foreplay was because of her breasts.

"That is so not fair."

"Look, she's going strictly to formula in the next couple of weeks. Then, they're all yours," she told him with a coy smile.

"Promise?"

"I promise," she said climbing out of his lap. He sat up and placed small kisses all over her stomach and hips as she ran her fingers through his hair. He slowly dipped his index fingers into the top of her panties and began sliding them down slowly, letting her step out of them as they hit the floor. A smile came to her face as he noticed she hadn't let the combined trials of med school and motherhood keep her from her normal grooming habits. Her recent waxing allowed him a great view of the prize he had been craving for months. He wrapped his arm around her and picked her up again before caring her into the bedroom. He fell back on the bed with his feet still on the floor, this time meaning to do so, and pulled her on top of him. She straddled him and his hands gripped the back of her thighs pulling her further up his body until her thighs lay at either side of his head. He wrapped his hand around her thighs, keeping her in place, and a smile came to her face as she heard him let out a lustful groan. The smile quickly disappeared and her mouth fell open as she felt his tongue leaving a trail of wetness from her opening to her clit. She let out a long throaty moan as she lean backwards, placing her hand on his knees to brace herself.

He placed a soft kiss on her nub before he pursed his lips and latched onto it.

"Oh my god," he heard her say in a low breathy whisper.

He continued to pull and nibble at her for a few more minutes, careful not to bring her to orgasm. That wasn't what he wanted. He knew that breastfeeding women had hard time getting into a sexual mood and they often needed a little more foreplay. He stopped only when she started producing a large amount of juices for him to lap at. He moved his hands behind her to rid himself of his pants and boxers before gripping her hips and sliding her backwards towards his fully erect shaft. She stiffened when she felt him brush against her backside. He only responded by tightening his grip and applying more force to push her where he wanted her. When she felt herself moving against her will, she spoke up.

"We need a condom."

"What?" he asked getting a little frustrated.

"A condom," she told him getting a little frustrated herself at his denseness. She would think that she wouldn't have to say anything after the other human being lying in the next room."You know one of those things that help little people from taking over the world or better yet our house."

"Do we have any?"

"I don't know," she told him.

He just stared at her hoping like hell that they did. Even though she had gotten back on the pill, he knew that she was still extra cautious to keep any more_ little surprises_ from happening, and no condom meant no sex for him.

"Check the top drawer on the night stand" She reached over him and opened the night stand drawer. He busied himself with placing kisses on her stomach as he listened to her move things around in the drawer. He heard her close the drawer and he held his breath, only letting it out when he saw the condom in her hand.

She opened it and slowly put it on, knowing she was teasing him. He offered to do it himself, but she only pushed his hands away and continued doing it. When she was finished she swung one of her legs over him so she was straddling him again and leaned down to kiss him again. She reached her hand between them and grabbed the base of his shaft before scooting back and guiding him into her. She broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes letting out a small whimper as she felt the initial penetration. He grunted himself and grabbed onto her ass, digging his finger tips into her flesh and keeping her steady as he tried to pull himself back from the edge. It had been so long, he almost loss control at the initial feeling of sliding into her.

After feeling comfortable enough to continue, he used the grip he had and in one swift motion pushed her all the way down onto him, filling her completely. She only responded by letting out small scream as she buried her face into his neck. A smile came to his face. He loved the sounds she made when they had sex. It turned him on even more. He placed small kisses on her shoulder and palmed her ass, massaging it as he let her adjust to his length and girth.

After a few moments, he tightened his grip on her again, bringing her hips up before slamming her back down on his erection again. She responded by letting out a yelp, which was more of a moan this time.

He only smiled, his ego growing at the realization that it was taking her a while to get used of him being inside of her again. "What's the matter Lise?" he asked with a smug grin on his face. "It's been too long? You can't take it anymore?"

She removed her face from his neck and looked him in the eyes, their faces only centimeters apart. "I told you you shouldn't have made me wait so long."

"Fuck you," she told him, knowing he was enjoying their current situation. He only responded by raising her hips up again and slamming her down harder onto him while simultaneously thrusting upward. This time she let out a long lustful moan and her bottom lip jutted out a little into one of the sexiest pouts he had ever seen.

"That's my little porn star," he said teasing her as she began to move her hips against him. He had often told her when they were back at Michigan that no one would believe that the smart, snooty girl would turn into one of the most intense porn stars in bed. Her response was much the same.

"Shut up." She sat up a little, her hands still on his chest as she began rising and falling on top of him, creating her own rhythm. She soon got more comfortable in her rhythm and began riding him harder and faster.

"Lise…wait," he got out between breaths. Her hips had developed a mind of their own and at the rate she was going, he was sure he was going to finish before her. "Slow down."

She only smirked at him before replying in a mocking tone. "What's the matter? You can't handle it?"

He looked at her a little taken back before a smile spread across his face. Before she knew it she was on her back and he was standing with the top half of his body hovering over her. He braced himself with one hand and put the other on her inner thigh spreading her open even more. He took pleasure in the surprised look on her face at their sudden reversed positions. He leaned down so his lips brushed hers.

"Oh I can handle it." He reentered her with one quick motion making her arch her back and grab onto his biceps before letting out a deep moan. He pulled out again and picked up a rhythm that consisted of long, deep strokes. She couldn't stop the moans and whimpers that were escaping her.

He gripped onto her hips pulling them off of the bed a little and released himself from her hold a little as he continued to pull almost completely out before plunging back into her. He listened to her moans bouncing off of the walls and watched as she contorted her face and body trying to get away from the painful pleasure that he was inflicting up on her. He wouldn't let her out of his grasp nor would he let her grab onto him, so she fisted the sheets trying to get some consolation from the feel of him plowing into her. A cocky smirk came to his face as he continued watching her. He was happy that he hadn't cheated on her. He knew that he would never have gotten that much pleasure from sleeping with Melanie as he was getting from making her scream his name and pull at their bed sheets.

It didn't take long for her to reach her point of release at the rate he was going. And he was soon to follow, not having as much control over himself as he usually did since he hadn't practiced in a while.

They crawled under the sheets tiredly, both on their sides facing each other. She scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her pulling her even closer. He kissed her forehead and she looked up at him and smiled sleepily. Although he knew that everything was good again with their relationship, he still knew that he had hurt her and he still regretted it deeply.

"I'm sorry," he told her as he began running his fingers through her hair.

"I know," she said right before she let out a tired yawn and laying her head on his chest and closing her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," he told her. He laid awake thinking about how he could not screw things up for them again. He soon grew tired too, and eventually fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait to update. I hope it was worth it.**


	34. Chapter 33

"Gimme that," Greg said taking his stethoscope off of the table and placing it around his neck to keep Hayden from pushing it off of the table. The little girl was now five months old and was currently sitting on top of his desk at the hospital and he was trying to patiently wait on Lisa to arrive from her study session at the library. "Do you think its fun to throw things on the ground and watch me pick them up?" She had been doing that all evening. She only laughed. He just went back to reading the papers in front of him and she searched the desk top for another interesting new object. Not finding any, she turned her attention back to her father.

He felt a little hand in his hair, but decided to ignore her and try to finish reading. He felt her shifting on the desk top and gave her a quick glance to make sure she wasn't moving to the edge were she could almost fall again or getting into anything that could cause injury to her or him. He heard her start to blow raspberries and didn't realize that she was right over his paper until a big drop of drool fell onto it.

"Really kid?" he asked rhetorically as he looked up at her. She just stared at him and reached for his face.

He let out a deep breath realizing he wasn't really going to get anything productive done as long as he had to watch her. He picked her up off of the table and walked out of the office of cubicles and out to the nurse's station.

"Oh you're still babysitting?" Barbra, one of the older nurses asked him as she touched Hayden's hand. "Hey cutie."

"Yeah, she is cute isn't she?" he told her, placing the diaper bag he had been hiding in front of the desk on top of the desk. "Wanna babysit for a while?" He wasn't trying to push her off on anyone else, he just wanted to finish his work so he could go home early, but his baby was an attention seeker.

"I don't think so," Barbra told him.

"Well it was worth a try. You guys got any candy back there?" He leaned over and started searching behind the desk. She reached into the candy jar they had and handed him one of its contents.

"Sorry sweetie," she said playing with Hayden's hand again as she followed the candy Greg popped into his mouth, "but we ran out of suckers."

He looked at the baby who was looking at him wanting the candy and poked his tongue out at her. "Those two little teeth don't come in so handy after all huh?" he told her teasingly. " That's what you get for biting me."

Nurse Barbra laughed at them before gathering some files and heading into the filing room to put them back. Hayden reached her hand to his mouth to try and take the candy she wanted, but he clamped his lips together.

"Aww how cute," he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. He turned around to see Melanie walking up to him.

"Hey Mel," he said.

"Oh my god Greg," she said finally getting a full view of the baby. "She's a little sweetheart. Can I hold her?"

"Uhmm," he was thinking of a reason to protest. He didn't think that Lisa would approve of her holding their kid, especially if she found out that she was the woman that he almost cheated on her with. Well he hadn't exactly told her how close he had come to cheating, but she still knew enough. Like the fact that Melanie knew that he was in a relationship and still wanted to jump him. He knew that she would be coming up any minute to get Hayden and didn't want her to think anything of them talking. Things for them had been good for the past month and he wanted to keep it that way. They had finally gotten over their post baby slump, where they could seem to get nothing right and they were finally back to pre baby relationship status. Only they had a baby. She didn't know what Melanie looked like, but he was sure that she had gotten Donna to tell her Melanie's name.

He didn't have time to protest because she was already taking Hayden out of his arms. He was a little relieved when Hayden started to fuss and stiffened her entire body, trying to get out of Melanie's arms and back into his.

"Okay, okay," Melanie said not wanting to make the little girl cry. Greg gladly accepted her back and rubbed her back trying to soothe her.

"You don't want me to hold you?" Melanie asked sweetly, but the baby only turned her head and looked behind Greg and away from Melanie.

"She doesn't really like strangers," he told her, trying not to make her feel bad after his baby's rejection. She was really a nice person, so he thought. He knew that Lisa, Donna, and a few of Lisa's other friends would disagree if they knew the story behind what had almost happened.

Suddenly, Hayden's babbles got a little louder and she started to move around a little more in his arms. He turned around and saw Lisa walking through the double doors talking to Lori.

His heart rate sped up a little bit and he turned back to Melanie.

"It's okay. She just loves her daddy. I can understand that," she said in a flirtatious tone. He only smiled nervously. She ran her hands across the back of Hayden's hand.

Lisa had spotted Greg when he suddenly turned around to look at her before turning back to the blond in front of him. She saw Hayden staring at her with wide eager eyes and smiled as she walked over to them.

"She's beautiful though," she heard the blond say.

"Yup," he agreed, knowing Lisa was close now. "She looks just like her mother." She smiled as she walked up beside him. "Oh hey babe," he wrapped his arm around her. "I didn't even see you standing there."  
She gave him a knowing smile before turning her attention to the baby.

"Hey sweetie," she cooed to the little girl as she took her out of Greg's arms. Hayden replied with an eager smile and started kicking her feet. "Mommy hasn't seen her sweet girl all day?" she said as she adjusted the baby on her hip.

"That's because she's been driving daddy crazy all day," he said glaring at the back of the baby's head.

"Good girl," Lisa said, making Lori laugh and earning a glare of her own from Greg. She then noticed the girl standing in front of them, just staring at the scene before her.

"Hi," she greeted the girl with a smile. She hadn't meant to be rude, but she hadn't seen her baby since that morning when she dropped her off at the nursery. The smile quickly disappeared as her eyes fell to the girls name tag. She tried not to let her disdain for the girl be two obvious, but she also didn't feel the desire to be courteous anymore either. She put on a fake smile and turned to Greg, who had seen the sudden change of facial expression and was trying not to panic just yet.

"So what time are you going to be home tonight?" Lisa asked grabbing the diaper bag off of the desk top.

"I should be home in a couple of hours," he said, "after I finish reading over a few papers. I would be able to leave now if Drooley Mcwigglesalot would have let me finish reading.

"Guess I'll see you then." She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him down to her before pressing her lips to his and sticking her tongue in his mouth. She felt Melanie's eyes on them.

"Need me to baby sit while you two get a room?" Lori asked jokingly.  
She pulled back from Greg with a smile on her face. She then turned to the blond to see she was indeed still looking at them.

"Bye Melanie," she said looking back to Greg. She wanted to let him know that she knew that that was the girl. She would have gotten mad, but she knew that he would never do anything to hurt her. She trusted him. She couldn't help but to smile at the panicked look on his face.

"Say 'bye bye daddy'," she told Hayden. The little girl just looked at him at the mention of the word 'daddy'.

"Bye smurf," he said, knowing the little girl would be asleep by the time he got home.

She readjusted the baby on her hip and she and Lori walked off in the direction in which they had come from.

"Well," Greg said turning to Melanie, happy he had avoided a disaster, "I guess I better get back to work." He walked pass her and went back into his office.  
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"You know," Greg said as Lisa put her feet in his lap, "you should be the one giving me a foot message. You've been home longer than I have."

She only smiled at him as she held the spoon up to his mouth letting him eat the contents off, before he started rubbing her feet. The television was off and the baby was asleep so they just started talking about their day and everything else. He paid special attention when Lisa voiced one of her infamous lines.

"I have to tell you something, but I don't want you to get upset," she started anxiously. He stopped rubbing her feet and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "My parents are coming for a visit next weekend."

"What?!" He asked, clearly a little upset by the news.

"I know, I know," she tried to explain as she removed her feet from his lap and moved closer to him. She swung one leg over his and propped herself up on her knees before placing her arms around his neck. "But my dad has never seen the baby and my mom hasn't seen her since she left, so that's why I asked them to come." Her father had been a little upset after she had started her second year of school. Hayden was only six weeks old at the time and he argued that she was too young to be left in the care of strangers. She tried to tell him that it was around the time most women went back to work after they had babies, but he only countered with his idea of her not working at all and being a stay at home mother. Getting him to come for a visit was a big step to her. No matter how hard she tried to pretend otherwise, she secretly wanted her father's approval.

"You couldn't have taken her and gone to them?" he asked. He had no problem with her mom coming to visit, but her father was a different story.

"Well yeah," she told him, "but it was easier for them to come to me."

"Easier for who?"

"For me," she told him, getting a little upset that he still wasn't taking to the idea. "I can still get a little studying done when they aren't here and it's easier for two grown ups to travel than for me to travel alone with a five month old."

"She'll be six months by next weekend," he told her.

"Greg, com'on," she said sitting back on her heels. "It took me forever to convince my dad to come up for a visit, and since I didn't go home for the break it'll probably be the only chance they get to see Hayden for a while." She didn't have the best relationship with her parents, but she still loved them and she wanted them to be a part of her daughter's life. "So I am asking you to please…please act civil while they are here."

"Me?" he asked a little surprised. "You're father's the one who's always starting something."

She just looked at him and rolled her eyes, already getting a little overwhelmed by the weekend that was to come. One thing she had noticed a long time ago, Greg neither her father could be adults about things. They were both man-children who would stop at nothing to have the last word or get their way.

"He won't '_start_' anything this time," she told him. He gave her a look that said '_yeah right_', and she returned it with a pleading look.

"Alright, fine," he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'll try not to call him out on being the asshole that he is."

She smiled at him before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. "Thank you."

* * *

"What the hell?" he asked after seeing the pink outfit Lisa had dressed Hayden in. "She looks like she waste a bottle of peptobismol on herself." He had convinced her to keep the amount of pink in the house to a minimum, but on rare occasions this happened.

She just looked at him and rolled her eyes before picking the little girl up and handing her to him. "Okay I think now would be a good time to turn off the dramatics," she told him. "My parents are going to be here any minute and you promised to behave yourself."

"Yeah, but leave the smurf out of this," he told her as he followed her down the stairs. "It's no reason that she should have to suffer."  
She just reached into the bottom of the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle and handed it to him. "Do me a favor and feed her." She started to walk off, but turned around, "And don't _'accidentally_' get any on her clothes."

He sat down on the couch and adjusted the baby in his arms. He put the bottle to her mouth and she latched on to it and brought her hands up to the sides holding it up as he removed his hand. He smiled down at her and she started to down the contents of the bottle. He grabbed the remote and flipped on the television. He had been watching it for a bout five minutes before Lisa rushed by him.

"Why didn't you answer the door?" she asked glaring at him.

He had been so into the television that he hadn't heard the knocking. He only smiled at her, knowing she was a little nervous. She rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to go to the door.

He heard them exchanging greetings and looked down at Hayden, removing the empty bottle from her hands. "Oh joy," he said sarcastically as he sat the little girl up on his lap. Her eyes immediately fell on the monkey that sat on the other side of the couch and she reached for it. He handed it to her and without hesitation it was in her mouth.

"Oh my," he heard Anne's voice as she walked into the living room. "She's gotten so big." He just released his hold on the baby as she was snatched from his hands. Hayden just observed her unfamiliar face. "Oh, hello Greg."

He just smiled up at her amused by the 'big' comment. Of course the baby had gotten a little bigger, and definitely pudgier since the last time she had seen her, but by no means did he consider her to be big.

His attention turned to the broad framed man that walked into the room behind Lisa. Obviously, Anne had left them behind, probably for Lisa to have the same behavior talk she had had with him.

"Greg," the man said, trying to put on a pleasant tone.

"Bill," he returned with a fake smile.

Bill's attention shifted to Hayden and a smile appeared on his face. "This must be the beautiful little one Anne and Jenn have been going on and on about." Lisa smiled knowing that her mother and Jenn had a big part in convincing her father to come visit them.

Anne handed him the baby and Hayden just looked at him, observing him as she had done with Anne. "Hello sweetheart," he said placing his finger in her palm, "I'm your grandpa."

Lisa smiled. She could almost see her father's heart melting in front of her. Having someone talk directly to her, Hayden began to babble.

"Yes," Bill said as his eyes widened at the surprising dialogue.

"He finally agreed that he's an asshole," Greg whispered into Lisa's ear. She elbowed him in the stomach.

"Don't start," she said through clenched teeth.

Anne, Greg and Lisa sat on the couch as Bill sat in the big arm chair still holding Hayden. They all started a conversation, well Greg was relatively silent since Lisa had warned him that if he wasn't going to say anything nice, he shouldn't say anything at all.

"I'll change her," he said happy for an out after the baby had made a mess on her dress.

"I see you don't have a problem with him helping out anymore," Anne told Lisa.

"She wouldn't need as much help from him if she would get her priorities straight," Bill chimed in, making Lisa's smile fade a little bit.

She decided to ignore him and not let him bring her mood down. "So," she started, "I was thinking that we could all go out to dinner."

"Or you could cook dinner," he started. "But let me guess, you don't have time to do that either."

She took a deep breath and looked down at the ground, trying not to break at the way he was gunning for her.

"No," she started shakily. "I can cook. What would you guy's like?"

"Nonsense," Anne told her. "There's nothing wrong with us going out to eat. Bill what is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem," he said. "I just want what's best for my daughter and my granddaughter. That baby can't possibly be getting the attention she needs with both of her parents having such demanding schedules."

Lisa shifted uncomfortably as the tears welled in her eyes. She could take his shots at her housekeeping, her cooking, or whatever else, but it hurt her deeply that he tried to imply that she was a bad mother. And worst yet, her mother hadn't jumped to her defense. She was happy for the distraction when Greg came back into the room. That relief was soon gone when she saw the tiny little blue shirt she had argued with Greg about purchasing only days before.

'God, why didn't I change her?,' she asked herself.

He handed the baby back to Bill with a smile on his face. She just stared him down as he resumed his place beside her on the sofa.

"What does your shirt say sweetie?" Anne said stretching the shirt out so they could read it.

The woman gasped upon reading the words '_All Mommy Wanted Was A Backrub_' and Bill turned visibly red.

"Excuse me," Lisa said nervously as she stepped in front of her mother to get to her father. She grabbed the baby from his lap without a word and headed upstairs to change her again.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys liked it. Sorry for the extremely long wait.


	35. Chapter 34

He grabbed the baby and slid her back on the bed so she wouldn't crawl off the edge. This made her refocus her attention on him and she immediately went over to him and started playing in his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked Lisa. She had been fairly quiet the whole night. He would have thought that she would have been happy since they had just put her parents on a plane back home, especially after her dad had guilt her into making dinner two nights in a row.

"Nothing," she said giving him a weak smile, as she watched the little girl stick her fingers into his mouth.

"Are you sure?" he managed to get out, as she began pulling on his lips. He knew something was up. She just nodded.

"You're lying. There is…," he was cut off as he saw Hayden's mouth closing in on his face. "Go eat your mother's face," he said turning her around to face Lisa and giving her a little playful shove. She only laughed and turned around to began playing in his face again. He sighed knowing that she wasn't going to leave him alone.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong or not?"

She only stared at them for a little while longer as the little girl decided to see how much his face could stretch. He was good with her.  
"Do you think I'm a bad mother?"

His eyebrows furrowed and he looked at her more seriously as he sat up in the bed. "No. Of course not. Why would you thi…," he interrupted himself. He figured Bill had told her something when he wasn't around to hear. "What did your father say to you?"

She let out a self-loathing sigh as she watched the little girl pulled herself up to her knees while pulling on his shirt. She still wasn't old enough to pull herself into a full standing position. He picked her up and stood her in his lap.

"Nothing really," she said trying to make it not seem as bad as she felt it was. "He just said that I should quit school because I'm neglecting her…that I don't spend enough time with her," by now the first few tears had started to fall. "He said that I was selfish and that I put her second, after school…"she didn't finish before the tears started to fall harder.

She didn't put her baby second to anything, at least she didn't think she did. But it hurt her deeply that someone could even perceive to be that way. Although she came by surprise at one of the most inopportune moments in her life, she loved her little girl more than life itself.

"I don't know," she said sniffing, and wiping some tears away. "Maybe he's right, maybe I should just quit school."

"Are you kidding me?" he asked as he grabbed Hayden and scooted closer to her. "You're almost half way there now. You are not a bad mother, your dad's just the biggest f*&#ing jacka$$ in the world. You know you're not a bad mother."

She just held her head down, and he knew she was doubting herself.

"Look," he said holding Hayden out and pushing her closer to her face so she could observe what he was about to say. The little girl just chewed on her fingers and smiled at her. "The kid's alive and healthy and she's happy. She has everything she needs with extra. She only cries when she's sick or hungry or she's hurt herself or she's throwing a tantrum. And you know she's only made it this far because of you because one, I can't breastfeed, two, daycare centers are only open during the day not at night when I'm usually at the hospital, three, I suck at the half of the stuff you're great at, and four, you were about to murder me for not spending enough time with her in the beginning."

By now the tears had stopped, but she still didn't seem too sure. She looked away from him and he sat Hayden back in his lap. He let out a frustrated sigh, not knowing what to tell her to make her understand what he was saying. He looked down at the little girl in his lap that was looking up at him and still happily chewing on her fingers.

"Hayden, I think Mommy needs a hug." The little girl only looked at her, not really understanding what he said, but catching on to the word 'Mommy'.

He held the little girl up to her and she took her from him. She pressed the little girl's body to her chest. "I just wish I had more time to spend with her."

"Seriously Lise?" he told her. "She's the only baby at the nursery that has lunch play dates with her mother. Unlike some people who shove their kids off on other people and dread going to get them from day care, you actually run to the place every chance you get just to check on her."

"I know, but if I wasn't in school I wo...," she tried, but he cut her off.

"Look, I'm behind you on whatever you wanna do. If you wanna quit school and be a stay at home mom, that's fine with me," he told her. "I only have five more months of residency left so paying back your loan money and managing the bills won't be a problem, but if you do it, do it because you want to. Don't do it because your father wants you to, because you are going to hate yourself later. You are not neglecting Hayden, but I do think you'll be letting her down if you quit school. I know how bad you want this and when she gets older, she doesn't need to feel that she is the reason her mother is miserable because dropped out of school and didn't pursue her goals."

She placed a kiss on the baby's head as she felt her start to try and 'eat her face' as Greg would put it. He was right. She already knew from experience that the world wasn't kinder to mothers trying to make a place for themselves in the professional world. Her father had tried to make her think that she couldn't do it, but she wanted to be an example for her little girl. She wanted to show her that she could have a family and still pursue her professional goals if she wanted to. But it was good to know that he supported her in whatever she wanted to do.

* * *

"Hey babe," Lisa said as she picked up the telephone.

"What color panties are you wearing?"

"I'm not wearing any," she said as a smile came her face.

"Well I was calling to tell you that I was gonna be working a little late, but I'm sure my patient won't mind dying a little early."

She threw her head back and laughed. If his patients could only hear the things he said before they actually allowed him to be their doctor she thought.

He smiled when he heard her laugh. "Is the smurf asleep?"

"Yeah," she told him. "She was tired and went out like a light." She couldn't decide if she was happy or not that the baby had started to move around a lot more. Since she had started crawling, it was harder trying to keep up with her. She would be trying to study or get some housework done and Hayden would either be crawling over her book pages or trying to climb on whatever furniture she was sitting on if she decided not to sit on the floor. And if she wasn't doing that she was about to pull something down on top of herself. It had gotten a little better since they had realized that there was a way to baby proof the house.

"I wanted to play with her, but I'll wake her up when I get home," he said, knowing she wasn't going to allow that.

"Oh, no you won't," she told him matter of factly. "Because then you are going to pass out and I'm going to be the one to have to put her back to sleep. "

"So I can't play with my baby?"

"Tomorrow you can."

"Well can I play with you tonight instead?"

"If you get home early enough, maybe," she said in a flirtatious tone.

"No problem, I'll jus…,"

"Do not wake me up if I'm asleep," she threatened him.

"Then who will I play with?"

"Yourself," she said before bursting into laughter.

"Ha, ha," he said as another smile came across his face. He let her laugh for a little while longer. "Okay, it's not that funny."

"Yes it is," she told him as she continued laughing.

"You're so goofy," he told her through a chuckle.

"So what time are you going to get home?" she asked after she had gained control of her laughter.

"I don't know. Between eleven and midnight, I'm shooting for," he told her.

"Alright, I'll see you then. I have to get back to studying."

"Kay, bye."

She hung up the phone and tossed it on the sofa before picking up the book and going back to studying. She had been studying for about a half hour before she heard a knock on the door. She let out a sigh and got up to go and open the door. She was shocked by the person that stood on the other end.

"Paul," she said a little shock. She had to refrain herself from slamming the door in his face in a state of panic. "Uhmm, Greg's not here?" She was about to closed the door, but he put his hand on it and walked in anyway.

"I know," he told her, then held up a book. "I just came to return this book he let me borrow."

"Well here, let me take it."

She reached for the book and when she tried to pull it back to her, he held onto it for a second, making her look him in the eye. He smiled at her and released the book. She still stood by the door holding it open.

"I'll tell Greg you dropped by."

She expected him to walk back out the door, but he only stood there looking at her in silence.

"Lisa, my throat's a little dry," he told her. "You think I can get a glass of water?"

She looked at him, unsure and he read her uneasiness. "I'm only asking for a glass of water," he said giving her an innocent look.  
She hesitated but decided to get him the water so he could just leave. She heard the door close behind her as she walked towards the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water. She quickly went back into the living room and handed him the glass. He drunk it quickly and when she reached to take the glass from him, he grabbed her wrist.

She looked up into his eyes and managed to hide the fear that was rising up in her. "What are you doing?"

He just smiled and sat the glass on the table before taking a step towards her. She tried to pull away. "Paul, let go of me."

"You know, you never really gave me a chance."

"What are you talking about?" she asked as she continued to try and pry her wrist from his grip.

"You and me," he told her. "I tried to give you little hints that I wanted to be with you, but you just kept brushing me off."

"That's because I'm with Greg," she told him. "You know this."

"Yes, Greg. Why are you with him again?" she just looked at him as if he was crazy. "I can make you happy Lisa."

"I'm already happy," she told him. "Now would you please let go of me and leave."

"See, I can't do that. Not until I make you see what we can have."

"Wha…," she didn't have time to finish before she felt his lips press against hers and his tongue invader her mouth. She bit down on his lip. And he momentarily let go of her. She tried to run, but he grabbed her again and they fell to the ground.

She tried to get up, but he pounced on top of her pinning her down. "Get off of me!" she yelled at him.

"Why can't you just see that you should be with me. You shouldn't be with Greg, he doesn't deserve you. But yet you give yourself to him, why won't you give yourself to me like that?" he asked.

Tears started to form in her eyes as he pinned both hands above her head with one of his hands and she felt his other hand going up her shirt. "Paul, what are you doing?"

"Don't worry Lise," he whispered in her ear as started to place small kisses on her neck. "I won't hurt you. It'll feel good, I promise."

She felt his hand on her breast, against her bare skin and he let out an almost silent groan in her ear. She closed her eyes tight and her eyes burned as more tears came. "Paul, please," she sniffed. "Please don't do this."

"Shhh," he cooed to her. "Just relax."

She continued to try and break free of the strong hold he had on her. She couldn't believe what was happening. She was about to be raped in her own living room with her baby upstairs…her baby. She prayed that Paul had forgotten about Hayden. She didn't want him to do anything to her.

"Paul, please…," she begged in a whisper. He removed his face from the crook of her neck and looked back into her eyes.

"Anxious are we?" he smirked at her before bringing his lips down on hers. She closed her eyes again as she tasted his tongue in her mouth. All of her senses were flooded by him. He smelled like smoke and stale beer, and she was sure she would have bruise from the roughness of his groping. She did the only thing she could. She bit him again.

He pulled back quickly. "So you like it rough," he said with a smile. His hand then went down to the waistband of her pajama pants and she began to kick as much as she could under his weight. She wasn't really doing much since he had her legs pinned between his.

"No!," she yelled at him. "Stop, please. Please don't do this."

He pulled her pajamas and her panties down just past her hips, exposing her to him. "MMmmm," he hummed to himself upon seeing her. She felt his finger ghost across her and tried to push away from him. She pleaded for him to stop again when she felt his finger press against her clit and begin to move in small circles.

"Lise, I need you to get wet for me," he whispered to her.

She didn't answer, the tears that were flowing now had her head pounding and her throat hurting. But she was still trying to free herself from him. After a few minutes of him massaging her clit and her willing her body not to get into its natural instincts she felt him retract his fingers.

"Okay," he told her, "but it's going to hurt more this way." She felt him shift a little bit before she heard the zipper on his jeans going down. The sound she was sure was amplified ten times more in her head. She felt him shift a little more, giving her legs a little more space to move and she used all the strength she could gather after fighting him for the last few minutes and bent her leg, moving her knee up into his groin area.

"Ahh," he said as his face contorted in pain as he finally leg go of her wrist. She ignored the sharp pain shooting through them as she pushed herself away from him. She scrambled backwards on the floor and clumsily pulled her panties and pajamas back up. She quickly made it to her feet as she saw him getting over the initial shock and raced towards the kitchen. He quickly got up and tried to follow.

"Stop, you sick bastard," she said as she turned to reveal the huge knife she had pulled from the drawer.

He stopped were he was. "Back up," she told him.

She started walking towards him and kept instructing him to keep backing up towards the door. "Lisa, just let me explain baby."

"Leave," she told him.

"I wasn't going to hurt you," he told her. "I was just trying to make you see that we should be together."

"You were going to rape me," she told him.

"Aww com'on," he told her. "You would've enjoyed it. I promise."

"Get the fuck out of my house."

Before she could get him close enough to the door, they heard a small whimper coming from the baby monitor that she had sitting on the table. She looked at the monitor then back at him. A smile slowly spread across his face as her eyes grew wider. They both started running at the same time towards the stairs. She made it there first seeing as she was closer, but he managed to grab her ankle, making her fall. She turned around and used her free leg to kick him off, before making her way back to her feet and running towards the nursery. She knew he was right behind her. She made it into the nursery and quickly locked the door. As soon as she had turned the latch he hit the door, startling her and making her jump away from it. She stared at the door in shock, but quickly snapped out of it after hearing Hayden's loud cries echo off of the walls. She was obviously startled out of her sleep when he hit his fists against the door. She sat the knife down on the floor and walked over to the crib. She picked the little girl up and cradled her to her chest.

"Shh, shh," she said as she began to sway a little, trying to calm the little girl. "Mommy's here sweetie. Mommy's here."

"Lisa open the door," she heard Paul voice yell from the other side of the door. He was obviously angry now and that frightened her even more.

"Paul, just leave, please," she told him as she continued to try and soothe the baby.

"Just come out and talk to me Lisa," he told her.

"Paul, if you don't leave right now, I am going to call the police," she lied. She didn't even have a phone in the room with her. She just hoped that he didn't figure that out.

"Open the got damn door," he yelled at her as he hit the door again making it buckle a little.

"Sweetie, its okay. It's okay," she said trying to remain calm enough to try and calm the screaming baby. A few tears still escaped her.

She hoped that he would leave and that the door was strong enough to hold until he did. If he got into the room, she would have no other choice but to surrender herself to him in order to protect Hayden. She looked down at the little girl in her arms as she continued crying. She would do anything for the little girl, but she still hoped that she could salvage herself and her little girl from the wrath of the crazed man on the other side of the door. "Hayden, it's okay baby. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"Lisa," she heard Paul yell again.

"I called the police," she yelled over Hayden's screaming, not giving him a chance to finish. "They're on their way. You better be gone by the time they get here."

She heard silence on the other side of the door for a while. She figured that would make him rethink everything. He wouldn't risk his entire career and his freedom just to get next to her. At least she hoped he wouldn't. He hit the door one last time, which made a now calmer Hayden jump and began screaming again. Lisa just held her closer.

"Alright I'll leave," he offered and her heart rate slowed a little at the relief. "But we still have to talk."

A few moments later she heard a door slam from downstairs.

"Shh," she tried to quiet Hayden again as she walked to the window next to the changing table. She looked out of the window and a couple of minutes later she saw Paul get into his car that was parked on the curb. She hurried out of the nursery and downstairs with Hayden still in her arms and locked the front door.

She began pacing the room, rethinking the events that had just happened. She was happy that it was over and with the adrenaline no longer coursing through her veins, she just wanted to fall into a heap on the floor and cry. But she couldn't do that, because Hayden still needed her. She had to hold herself together for her baby. She cradled her in her arms and began rocking her back and forth. A few minutes later, she finally quieted down and about twenty minutes later she drifted back off to sleep.

It was close to midnight and Greg was just making his way home. He put the key in the lock and turned it unlocking the bottom lock. He tried to walk in, but surprisingly the top lock was locked too. He thought it strange because Lisa usually only locked the bottom lock when she knew he had to come home. Luckily he had recently placed the key to the second lock on his key chain. He opened the door and walked in to see her sitting on the sofa staring blankly at the wall. Hayden was sleeping peacefully on side of her. She didn't seem to notice him as he threw his backpack on the chair.

"Wow," he said making her turn her head quickly to look at him. "And here I tho…,' he wasn't able to finish his sentence before he felt her body crashing into his and his arms wrapping around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and was about to make a smart remark until he realized she was crying.

"Lisa? Baby what's wrong?" She didn't answer and just continued crying. He tried to pry her away from him so he could look in her eyes but she had a death grip on him and she was not allowing him to break any contact they had. He just wrapped his arms back around her and held her as she continued to cry. He looked at the baby on the couch and watched as her little chest raised a fell a few times. She made a few sucking motions with her mouth and continued sleeping. Clearly she wasn't upset about the baby because she was fine. He hadn't seen anything wrong with her, well except for the emotional break down she was having.

After letting her cry for what seemed like forever, he backed up to the chair behind him and sat down pulling her onto his lap. That was when he saw the bruises on her wrist.

"Lisa what happened?" he asked holding her wrists up so he could inspect them better.

She just looked at her wrists and continued crying and shook her head. He continued inspecting the bruises and saw that they were from someone's hands by the finger marks he saw. He felt his temperature raise a few degrees.

"Who did this to you?" he asked her. She opened her mouth to speak but she had lost her voice in the tears she was crying now and the ones she had been crying all night long. "Tell me who did this?"

She just started crying harder and he knew he wasn't going to get much out of her anytime soon. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he pulled her closer. The angle of her body made the shirt rise up a little more and he saw bruises on her side right above her hips. His brows furrowed and he felt his heart skip a beat as worst case scenarios start flashing through his mind.

He pulled her face away from his tear soaked neck. "Lise," he said, afraid to finish the question, "did… did someone rape you?"

"No," she said quietly through the tears as she shook her head. "I fought him off."

He looked at her, his temperature rising a few more degrees as he realized that someone in fact, did try to rape her. "Come here," he said wrapping his arms back around her letting her bury her face into his neck again. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Lise. I should've come home. I should've been here." He cursed himself for having a job that required him to work such late hours. Luckily, he thought, his residency was almost over and he wouldn't have to work such late hours so often.

A few hours later, she cried her self to sleep, feeling secure enough to do so since she was wrapped in his arms. He just stared intently at the wall, letting his anger brew. He carried her up the stairs, not wanting to wake her after she had finally fallen asleep. He put her in their bed and pulled the covers over her. He then went back down and brought Hayden up the stairs to put her in her crib. As he was exiting, he saw a few scuff marks on the door. He also noticed that the angle of the door was slightly askew and the little pastel wooden sign that read 'HAYDEN' was on the floor. He picked it up and hung it back in it's placed. That's when he noticed that the hinge was a little loose. It looked as if someone had tried to knock the door down. He thought back to the little information that he had gotten out of Lisa and realized that she had locked herself in the nursery with the baby to get away from him.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, but it was no use. He wanted to know who had did it, but Lisa had refused to tell him the person's name. He knew that she knew him because she hadn't said that she didn't know him. She just said that she would talk to the police. She didn't want him to know because she knew that he would try to handle the situation himself. He was pacing around downstairs, trying to calm himself enough to get some sleep before having to get up and go to work the next day. That's when his eyes caught a hold of a book he thought he had lost sitting on the kitchen bar. Then he remembered that he had loaned it to Paul, but he hadn't remembered him bringing it back. He stood in thought for a few seconds putting two and two together. Paul… it had to have been him who had attacked her and tried to break down the door. He saw red and it was almost as if he had developed tunnel vision as he grabbed his keys and headed out of the door.


	36. Chapter 35

Greg got off of the elevator and made his way through the main lobby on the fourth floor and down the hall towards one of the nurses' stations. It was now day break, and he had missed Paul at his home, but knew where he would be able to find him. He passed a couple of residence as he continued towards the office. A few of them spoke but he didn't really hear them. He went into the office and walked over to Paul's cubicle, but he wasn't there.

"Hey man," Steven said walking into the room, "Why are you here so early? You're not due in for at least another two hours."

"Where's Paul," he managed to growl out.

Steven just looked at him, a little confused as to why he looked more crossed than usual. "On the roof, but why are…," he didn't have a chance to finish before Greg was out of the room. Sensing something was up, he followed behind him.

He had almost made it onto the elevator with Greg, but Donna stopped him.

"What's the rush?" she asked him as she grabbed a hold of his arms. He watched as the elevator doors closed and Greg repeatedly pressed the button. He turned his attention to her. "Greg just flew by here, not even saying hello and he seemed like he was pissed with the world. What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I think I better get to the roof quick," he told her.

She watched as he continued towards the elevator. The door to the other elevator opened and he got on. She ran over quickly and slid in before the door closed.

The door to the roof slammed open and Greg saw Paul standing by the ledge smoking a cigarette. He didn't say anything as he stalked over to him. Paul didn't even see him until he was right on him and didn't even have time to register who he was before Greg's hand was at the collar of his shirt and his fist was colliding with his face. Paul stumbled backwards as Greg let go of him.

"What the f*&% man?" he barely got the words out before Greg had right hooked him again making him fall to the ground.

"Greg what the hell are you doing?" he faintly heard Steven's voice from behind him as he landed a kick to the fallen man's rib making him shriek out in pain.

"Oh my god?" Donna said.

"Get off man," he heard Steven yell as he tried to pull him away.

"Stay out of this Steven," he said as he pushed him to the side. He immediately fell to his knees next to Paul who was keeled over in pain and landed a few punches to his face.

Donna saw that Steven wasn't having any luck as he tried to pry Greg away from Paul once more and ran back down the short flight of stairs and to the elevator that would lead her back into the hospital so she could get some help.

"You stay the hell away from them!" Greg yelled as he kicked Paul in the face as he was being once again pulled away by Steven.

"Greg, calm down. Sh!t you're going to get us all fired," Steven yelled, trying to break the sound barrier that his mind seemed to have put up.

To no avail, Greg had again pulled away from him and was scrambling back towards Paul who was trying to get up off of the ground.

"She…" Paul tried to say something, but Greg punched him in the mouth and continued landing blows not letting him get to his feet.  
Greg heard the door to the roof hitting the concrete wall again as it swung open and an "Oh, sh!t," from which sounded like his friend Andrew.

"What the hell's going on man?" Andrew asked.

"'I don't know," Steven said as he, Andrew and Travis raced towards Greg.

The next thing Greg knew he was being pulled off of Paul again, only this time it was much harder to break lose.

"I will kill you!" he yelled. "If you ever go near them again I swear, I will f*&^ing kill you."

Paul managed to make it back to his feet and managed a mocking smirk through his pain as he clutched at his stomach. He could taste the blood pouring into his mouth.

"She wanted it," he said making Greg struggle even harder to get away. "And god knows I wanted to give it to her. That ss of her is so sweet, and she was so wet," he said chuckling a little.

"You son of b!%$h," Greg spat as he tried repeatedly to get away from the three people holding him back.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Travis asked to no one in particular, knowing no one other than the two men talking knew exactly what was going on.

"She just felt bad about cheating on you, leaving you," Paul continued. "But she'll get over it one day and I'll be banging her every night, and that little girl is going to be calling me Daddy."  
Before he knew it Greg was on him again, landing punches wherever he could.

"Why the hell did you let him go?" Steven asked Andrew.

"Hey I got a wife and a kid," Andrew told him, kind of figuring out what Paul was talking about. "And if someone said that about him, I'd beat his ss too. "

Oh my God," they heard Donna yell. "Greg no!"

They turned to see that Greg had Paul by his collar as he pushed him back over the railing. The man clung to Greg's arms as they were the only thing he was able to grip to feel like he had some control over rather he went over or not. His feet had left the ground and all Greg had to do was let go and he was a goner.

"Now what were you saying you little pr!ck?" Greg asked through clenched teeth. Seeing the fear in the man's eyes as he looked over his shoulder at the ground that lay below gave him a little pleasure, as he could only imagine the fear that he had provoked in Lisa the night before.

"Greg com'on man. Don't do this," he heard Steven say as the three men raced to the edge next to him.

"Yeah, he's not worth it," Travis chimed in. "Just pull him back."  
Steven tried to grab a hold of Paul just incase Greg decided to let go, but Greg only elbowed his hand away, not letting anyone else get a hand on the man's life. Paul's life was completely in his hand and that's the way he wanted it.

"Please, man, don't do this," Paul begged him.

"Travis is right man," Andrew spoke up after Greg still didn't seem to want to pull Paul back in. "He isn't worth it. And how is Lisa gonna deal with this, if you get twenty five to life. She doesn't wanna raise that baby alone. You have a beautiful little girl at home and I know you don't want the next time you see her without being behind bars to be when she's twenty five. And that's if you get the minimal sentence. Pull him back Greg. It's not even worth it."

He thought about it for a little while and pulled him back, managing to land one last kidney shot before he was again dragged away. This time Travis helped Steven and Andrew get Greg into the stairwell and away from Paul while he and Donna stayed behind to check on the man's injuries.

"What f&%$ was that all about?" Steven asked as he shoved Greg into the elevator.

"He went to my house last night," Greg said as his chest heaved up and down, adrenaline still pumping a little to much for him to feel the tiredness and muscle aches from the kick boxing lesson he had just done on Paul. "He went to my house when I wasn't there and tried to rape her. He almost broke down my little girl's door. He tried to f&*$ing rape her," he repeated as he hit his fist against the wall of the elevator.

The two other men in the elevator stood in silence, now understanding his anger as Greg turned away from them trying to find an outlet for his anger, now that Paul's face was no longer an option.

"We are so getting suspended if not fired," Steven said as they watched the elevator numbers light up one by one.

When the number four lit up, the doors slid open and Andrew and Steven immediately put their hands in the air as they were met with hospital security.

"Is there a problem officers?" Andrew tried to ask as if nothing was wrong.

"Yes," the rounder of the men said. "We got a report that there was a man being dangled from the roof and your pal back there looks to be the dangler."

Greg looked at the man and rolled his eyes.

"Sir I'm sorry," the younger security guard said. "But we're going to have to take you in."

Greg just turned around and put his hands behind his back. He willingly let the man cuff him as Steven and Andrew stepped out and the two security officers stepped on.

"Don't forget to get the son of b!%&h on the roof," he told them as they pressed the button for the first floor.

"We'll be down there with bail money soon," Steven told him as the elevator doors closed.

"Thanks," Greg mumbled before they were out of site.

* * *

Back at home Lisa had just been woken up by the sound of Hayden crying. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and walked into the nursery to see that the baby had rolled onto her stomach and had pushed herself up with her little hands. Her face was red indicating that she had been crying for a while.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry," she said as she reached in and picked her up. "I didn't hear you." She tried to explain as Hayden stuck out her bottom lip and babbled a few fussy comments but allowed her mother to console her. Lisa walked out onto the balcony.

"Greg," she called out, still rubbing the baby's back. No answer. "Greg," she called out again as she began to descend the stair case.  
Before she could start a detailed search the phone started ringing. She dug into the cushions with her free hands as that was where she had heard the sound coming from.

"Hello?" she said thinking it was Greg calling to explain his absence. She was a little upset about him leaving after what had happened the night before. It was a little discomforting having fallen asleep in his arms then waking up finding him no where in sight. Although she knew it was impossible, she wanted to wrap herself in his arms and never leave. It was the only way she would feel safe right now.

"Lisa it's Donna," the frantic female voice said to the other side. "You have to come down to the police department now," she said emphasizing the now.

"Why? What happened?" she asked getting a little panicked. "Is Greg okay?"

"He's fine," Donna reassured, "but he's in jail and we're heading down to the police department to bail him out. Maybe you can come down and help clear everything up." From the few words spoken on the roof, she figured that the whole thing had something to do with Lisa.

"Okay, I'm on my way," she said before hanging up the phone.

'Sh!t,' she thought to herself as her eyes darted anxiously around the room. 'He couldn't have possibly figured out that it was Paul who had attacked her.' Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the book that Paul had brought back that night lying on the floor next to the wall. This was the main reason she hadn't wanted him to know before she went down to the police station. She knew he would go and do something like this.

She punched some numbers into the phone and pressed talk. "Lori," she said when she heard her friend answer on the other end. She adjusted the baby on her hip. "I need you to get dressed and come down to the police station with me. I'll explain it to you on the way."

"O..okay," Lori said not really knowing what to make of the situation but figured it must have been an emergency from the sound of Lisa's voice.

"I'll pick you up in a little while." She hung up the phone and ran upstairs to get herself and the baby dressed.

She walked into the police station and up to the front desk where Donna was standing. Not surprising for a Saturday morning, the station was pretty busy. Probably mostly minor offenses from a drunken Friday night.

"Don't worry," she told her, "Steven and Andrew went to the back to go get him."

"So they're letting him out?" Lisa asked her.

"Yeah, after we posted the fifteen hundred dollar bail."

Lisa was about to go into her pocket and hand Donna some of the money she had brought with her. She had brought two thousand just to be sure. Before she could get her hands on the money, she heard a familiar yelling coming from the front door of the police station.

"This is ridiculous. I didn't do anything!" she heard him yell, his voice causing her to freeze up and her skin to crawl. The three women turned to see just who they were bringing in.

It wasn't long before Paul was being hauled into the room where they were. "He's the one that f*&%ing hit me. You can tell that. He doesn't have a scratch on him."

Lisa took in Paul's appearance. He had a cut over his left eye and on his top lip. His right eye was a little swollen and his left cheek had a cut on it. The officer tossed him in one of the chairs next to his desk.

"Ahh," he said after letting out a hissing sound. "Watch it! I have two fractured ribs you sshole."

"Lisa are you okay?" Lori asked after seeing Lisa was staring at Paul in what seemed to be a frightened daze. She had filled her out on everything that had happened on the way to the police station.

Lisa didn't answer her. She only looked away after Paul noticed her and a sly smirk came across his face. "Yeah," she said trying her hardest not to feel threatened under his stare. She could still feel his eyes on her. "I'm fine."

"Here, give me Hayden," Lori told her taking the baby from her arms. "You should file charges now since we're down here already. It's probably going to be a while before they get the paperwork done for Greg to be released. I'll be over here," Lori said motioning to the bench across from the desk. She walked over to the bench and began taking Hayden's coat off, and preparing to keep her occupied for what she was sure to be an extended stay at the police station.

"I think you should go ahead and press those charges too," Donna said making Lisa turn to face her. By now, she too was almost completely filled in on what had happened. "it'll probably help Greg's case a little. Especially with the hospital since the administrator has been blowing my pager up for the last fifteen minutes."

Lisa nodded and turned to the woman behind the desk. "Excuse me," she said getting the woman's attention. "I would like to file charges against Paul Mendal."

The lady looked down at the papers that the officer who had brought Paul in had given her. She looked back up at Lisa.

"That guy over there?" she asked pointing towards him.

"Yes?" she said.

"May I ask what for?"

"He attacked me," she said. The woman's eyes went to her bruised wrists and she pulled her coat sleeves down uncomfortably trying to hide the bruises.

"Fill out these papers and an officer will be with you soon," she said handing her some papers and sounding a little more sympathetic.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She walked over to where Lori had taken a seat with Hayden, and sat on the end of the bench next to the table so she could use it to write on.

Before she could finish filling out the papers, a female officer came and led her into a room where they could talk. She stayed about an hour talking to the lady and as she made her way out of the room, she heard Greg's voice coming from down the hallway that led to the retaining cells. He was going on about something and Steven and Andrew were trying to get him to shut up before the officers threw them all in jail. He had his back turned, yelling at the officers and hadn't seen her until he was close on her.

"Greg what happened?" she asked, making him turn and notice her.

"How'd you …,"

"Donna called me," she told him, cutting him off. "What did you do? I told you I would talk to the police."

"Well did you?"

"Yeah," she said losing some of her steam.

"Well what'd they say?"

"I put a restraint order on him. They said that I could only file minor assault charges and that he would most likely only get a fine…,"

"A fine?" He said, this time cutting her off. "Are you kidding me? How the hell…

"Greg," she yelled above him and grabbed his face to get his attention. "Let's just go home. We'll worry about it later." She said with a pleading voice.

He looked down at her and nodded. He could tell that she just didn't want to have to deal with it right now. She wanted it to be over and done with. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

A few seconds later, his pager started vibrating on his hip before making a beeping sound along with three other pagers in the room.

"I guess we should get back to the hospital," Andrew said.

"Pit stop before we head home?" he asked her.

She nodded, knowing they didn't really have a choice. He just hoped that he didn't get fired or suspended for too long, because they couldn't really afford it.

* * *

"Do you think they're going to fire him?" Lisa asked as she nervously rang her hands.

They were sitting out side of one of the hospital's conference room while Greg met with the administrative counsel. They had already talked to Donna, Andrew, and Steven. He was the last to go in. They had already talked to Travis and Paul after he had gotten his wounds treated and before he had been taken down to the precinct. Lisa had given Lori her car to go home with the baby after she had volunteered to babysit.

"No," Andrew told her. "They looked more confused than angry…although they were really angry."

"Well that's comforting," she mumbled to herself. Andrew was always the one trying to offer a word of comfort, but for some reason, it always ended up not being so comforting.

They sat in silence until the door to the conference room swung open.

"Ms. Cuddy," the older, balding man said as he stepped to the door. She stood up and looked at him. "May we have a word with you?"

He held the door opened for her and she entered the room to see Greg sitting in a chair facing the rest of the people in the room who were sitting around a long wooden table.

"Please, have a seat," the man, who seemed to be the head of the counsel said as he motioned to the chair next to Greg.

"Do you know anything about the altercation that occurred between Dr. House and Dr. Mendal?" he asked after she had taken a seat.

"Umm," she started nervously, "I wasn't there when it happened, but I believe I know why it happened."

"Would you care to enlighten us?"

She went on and told them about the attack. She didn't go into too much detail as she didn't feel it was necessary and she want to verbally relive it again. After she had told them what had happened and about the police report and the restraint order and showed them her bruises, they asked her and Greg to step outside.

They waited for about twenty minutes before he was called back into the room. About five minutes later he emerged looking a little less stressed. "I got a week's vacation," he told them.

He had only gotten suspended for a week and a warning that he should take care of all 'personal business' from now on at home and not bring it to work with him. Before they could leave Dr. Grey called them over as he and all of the other members filed out of the room.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Lisa," he said giving her a sympathetic look.

"Thank you," she told him.

"I just wanted to let you two know that you don't have to worry about Paul anymore. He's been fired and don't tell anyone, but Dr. Nelson has made it a personal goal to see to it that he has a hard time finding a job anywhere on the east coast."

Dr. Nelson was the only woman on the counsel. Greg knew that word would get out to the other hospitals, but with her help he was more content with the almost exile Paul would face.

"Thanks," he told him.

The man smiled and nodded at him before turning and walking away.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long time away. I hope you guys enjoy these updates because I don't know how long they will last. Don't forget to review.


	37. Chapter 36

Lisa took a deep breath and blew it out as she stepped out of the psychiatrist's office. She had just finished her last session of two months. The administrative board had insisted that she do at least six weeks of counseling to deal with what had happened with Paul. She had convinced her psychiatrists give her two more weeks and tried to get more but the woman assured her that she would be okay. She hadn't wanted to end her sessions because then at least she had a reason to talk about it and people wouldn't expect her to be over it. But with no therapy people would expect that she was okay and she wasn't sure she was. She jut didn't want to feel trapped and be forced to deal with it all on her own while it destroyed her from the inside out.

She began walking down the hall towards the elevators. The therapy sessions had been helpful. She felt better and stronger than when it had first happened, but she was still unsure of herself. The woman had told her that she hadn't done anything wrong and most of the women that she dealt with who wasn't able to stop their attacker would consider her a hero. Lisa in turn told her that she still felt a little helpless. Like he had taken something away from her, her security. She also said that she felt guilty because she hadn't actually been rapped and there she was whining about it when women who had actually had worst done to them were managing to move own with their lives. The woman reassured her that it was okay to feel that way and that she shouldn't feel guilty because she had been through a traumatic experience. She told her that if anything, it proved how strong she was. Paul had came there with set intentions to do harm to her or her baby and she had managed to stop him from doing both. Lisa started to see and agree with her reasoning, but she still felt a little unsure of herself.

She stepped off of the elevator and smiled at the nurse whom she had become familiar with as she walked down the hall towards the resident's office. She walked in and heard Greg talking.

"You can't eat that," he aid firmly. "Give it."

She heard some determined babble in response and smiled to herself.

"Give it here," he said again. She heard the little girl's fussing becoming more strained and she could tell that they were now engaged in a battle for whatever 'it' was. The girl had a strong grip for an eight month old.

The fussing became more of a cry and suddenly she heard a smack. She gasped and walked around the cubicle to see Greg with a pen light in his hand and a shocked look on his face as he sat face to face with Hayden who was sitting on his desk. The little girl still had her hand raised and looked at her father with no remorse. Lisa couldn't help the laugh that escaped her.

"She just slapped me," he said still a little surprised at what had just happened.

"I know. I heard," she told him still laughing. She walked closer and picked up the little girl who had already began to fuss and reach for her. "What did Daddy do to you?" she asked.

"What did I do to her?" he said outdone by the way this was going. "I stopped her from catching a hospital born infection," he aid putting the pen light he had taken away from her back in his pocket.

"Hayden, you shouldn't hit your father," she said still trying to suppress another laugh. "It's not nice."

"Yet, it's funny," he said in reference to the huge smile that was spread across her face.

"I'm sorry," she aid as she began laughing, "but she smacked you pretty hard."

He smiled too. It was always nice to hear her laugh, especially after what had happened. "So how did it go?" he asked. He had finished his anger management course he was made to take four weeks ago. He had felt extremely bad and helpless the first few weeks after the incident. He hadn't been able to do anything he deemed helpful, although she would say otherwise. She hardly slept and when she did she would dream about what had happened. She would only sleep when he was there. She said she did when he wasn't, but she had been extremely tired and whenever he would get in bed and wrap his arm around he she would tense up and pull Hayden closer. He would whisper into her ear letting her know that it was him, but she would always turn over and examine his features in the dark just to be sure. He felt awful for her.

Surprisingly, either he or the psychiatrist had convinced her that she didn't have to cling to the baby all the time because she wasn't in any danger. She had finally started letting her sleep in the nursery again. A few days after, they had had sex for the first time since the incident. He had told her that he could wait if she wasn't ready. She had said she was and that she didn't want to let Paul take anything else away from her, something he was sure the psychiatrist had told her. He had thought that the talking part of their job was wacky, but he thanked the woman for that. But even more importantly, it seemed to be helping Lisa.

She thought about it and smiled . "It went well," she said with a smile.

"So are you gonna go back?"

"No, today was my last session."

"Hey, Lise," Steven said walking up behind her.

"Hey," she said as he handed Greg some papers.

"You know he let her fall," he said pointing to Hayden.

Her mouth fell open and she turned to Greg. Steven smirked at Greg wiaht a knowing look on his face, before walking away.

"He's kidding," Grege said as he placed the file on his desk and got up to walk her out. She wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not but she soon got her answer when they walked in front of the nurse's station.

"Hey, sweetie," Barbara said as she reached out and touched Hayden's hand. "How's your head."

"You let her fall!?" Lisa yelled as she turned to Greg.

"I didn't let her fall," he said in his defense. "I tried to catch her but I couldn't quite grip…,"

"And she hit her head?" she added ignoring his attempt to defend himself.

"She didn't hit her head," he said shooting Barbara a mean glare. "She hurt her arm because…"

"Why weren't you watching her!?"

"I as watching her," he tried to explain again. "She just moves a lot faster now and I had thought that she would be fine in the chair…"

"I don't believe this," she said as she started checking the baby over.

"She's fine," he said. "If some people would just mind their own business…"

"Not my fault," Barbara told him as she picked up some files and walked to the back office.

After Lisa had made sure that she was fine and had given Greg an earful. She went to her car and headed towards the new aerobics class she had signed up for. There was a nursery at the place so she wouldn't have to worry about going back to get Hayden after the class.

"No, no, honey, don't touch that," the woman standing in front of Lisa told the toddler standing next to her. "You'll break it."

"Wow, look at all these kids," Lori aid as she stood beside Lisa. "I'd hate to work here."

"Yeah," Lisa agreed looking at the room full of kids, most of whom were crying. That was saying a lot for her, because Hayden was a handful, but she hardly ever cried. The kids there were crying even though they had lots of toys around them and they were receiving lots of attention from the day care workers trying to quiet them.

"I know it seems like a zoo in here, but they are good with the kids," the lady in front of them said.

Lisa only smiled as she could only guess the woman had picked up on her hesitance to leave Hayden there.

"Just try it for one day Lise," Lori told her. "We'll come in and check on her during the break."

Lisa sighed and walked up to the clip board and signed the paper, before handing Hayden over to one of the workers.

"She'll be fine," the woman told her again. "By the way, my name's Beth."

"Lisa. Nice to meet you," she replied. Lori introduced herself and the three proceeded down the hall after realizing that they were in the same class.

It was a burlesque cardio class and they found the class both enjoyable and entertaining. The class consisted of very seductive dancing and some older women and people with no rhythm had decided to take it upon themselves to enroll in the class. Lisa, Lori, and Beth took up residence in the back of the class. They didn't know if they got a better cardio work out for doing the dancing or an ab workout from laughing at the people. As soon as the instructor announced the ten minute break, Lisa headed down the hall to check on Hayden.

She walked in and scanned the room for the pudgy little face that belonged to her. She smiled to herself when she saw that Hayden's face was red from laughing as a girl that looked to be about sixteen held her and made funny faces. As soon as the baby would sigh and come down from one of her fits of laughter, the girl would either make another face or blow a raspberry in her stomach. She walked over with the smile on her face as the baby came down from another one of her fits of laughter. The girl was about to make another face, but she saw that the baby's attention had shifted to somewhere behind her. She turned to see what the baby was looking at.

"Oh, hi," the girl said with a bright smile.

"Hi," Lisa said.

"Is she yours?"

"Yeah," Lisa said.

"Are you leaving?" the girl asked sounding a little saddened.

"No, not yet," Lisa said picking up on the girl's sadness. "I just came to check on her."

"Oh, she's fine," the girl reassured as she turned back to the baby and bounced her around making Hayden smile again and grab for her face. "I'm Amy by the way. You have a really pretty baby."

"Thanks," she replied. "And my name's Lisa. Do you work here?"

"No," Amy told her. "I'm only fifteen. I'll be sixteen next month though. My mom comes here all the time. You might know her, Alice Macon."

Lisa thought to herself. She knew she wouldn't know the woman from the classes since it was her first day, but the name sounded familiar.

"Is your father Dr. John Macon?"

"Yeah, he works at Hopkins," she said with a smile. "You know him?"

"Yeah, he taught one of my classes."

"Oh, you're a med student?" the girl asked.

"Yeah," Lisa answered silently as a plan formed in her head. She had been searching for a babysitter. The day care was fine for the day time, but there were a lot of night events that she and Greg missed out on because they didn't have a babysitter. He had told her to call the agency, but she told him no. She wasn't leaving her baby with just anyone. The girl already had good credentials. She knew her father pretty well and had met her mother on a few occasions. She seemed sweet and nice and she liked Hayden, and Hayden definitely liked her.

"How would you like a job?"

The girl's eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open as she was surprised by the sudden job offer. "If you're talking about babysitting, sure," she said eagerly.

They discussed it a little more and Lisa told her she'd talk to her father before they started. As she turned to leave, a little boy pushed over a small shelf of toys.

"Keep a close eye on her for me will you?" she said to the girl.

"Of course," the girl said with a chuckle, understanding her distress.

"Bye sweetie," Lisa said evoking a short babble from Hayden. She smiled at the way the little girl trying to communicate back with her.

"Hold on I'm coming," Lisa said to whomever was on the other end of the phone as she kicked the door close and balanced her backpack, gym bag, and a store bag with Hayden tucked under her arm. She dropped all of the bags and sighed. She balanced so many things all the time, she was sure one day she would make a mistake and drop Hayden instead of the bags. She adjusted the baby on her hip and reached for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Where have you been? I've called you like five times," Greg said from the other end of the phone.

"I had to stop at the store, Hayden needed diapers. What's up?"

"Wanna eat out at Mel's tonight?"

"Uhhmmm, sure why not," she said. She would usually be tired, but she was becoming accustomed to the busy lifestyle and she had a little bit more energy after attending the aerobics class. Also, Mel's had good veggie burgers among other things. "But I'll be a while. I have to shower and get changed."

"Take you're time, I have to finish up here," he said. "Meet me there at six."

"She looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:15.

"Yeah, I should be ready by then."

"Well I'll see you later then."

"Kay, bye," she said hanging up the phone.

She went upstairs to get showered. She was almost ready to walk out of the door until she made the mistake of giving the girl a cheese puff and she ended up with a big orange drooly stain on the front of her shirt. She changed her quickly and hurried out of the door.

"Are you dining by yourself, sir?" the waitress asked.

"Uhm, no," he said. He proceeded to give the woman a description of Lisa so he could show her to his table when she got in. "I'm waiting on my girlfriend. She's about your height, with dark brown hair, bluish eyes that make her look extra scary when she's angry. Oh, and she'll have a midget with her with the same color eyes."

The lady looked at him a little confused about the midget part, but handed him a menu anyway and sat an extra one across from him on the other side of the booth before walking away and going back to the front of the restaurant. It was obviously a busy night for the place as it was packed with all types of people. Some people were there with their families while others were just there with friends or their significant others. They used to always go there before their schedules became so demanding and hectic. Since he was actually getting some slack now that he was almost finished his residency and since Lisa had just had a test that morning and didn't have to stud, he thought it would be nice for them to eat out. He always enjoyed the place and its atmosphere. He just never thought he be a part of the population that bought their kid there, but that's because he never thought he would have a kid.

"Aww, look how precious," he heard a few of the waitresses saw from the front, and a smile came to his face. He had well learned that reaction by now. He lowered the menu from in front of his face and looked towards the front of the restaurant to see Lisa holding Hayden as a few of the female waitresses fawned over her.

"Hey pretty girl," one of them said as she touched the baby's palm and smiled at her. Hayden only smiled back as the girl kept talking to her. After a few minutes of chatting with the waitress about the baby, Lisa finally made her way over to the table where he was.

"Sorry I'm late," she said taking Hayden's coat off. "Somebody made a mess of themselves." She loosened her grip on the baby who had been trying to get out of her grip and next to her father since she had noticed him. He reached for the little girl and she practically fell into his arms.

"Mommy's always blaming you. She can't ever admit that she's the reason for herself always being late," he told Hayden. The little girl smiled and began to babble something. Before he could stop her he saw her face coming towards his in one of her infamous open mouth kissed.

"No, do…," he quickly closed his mouth as he felt slobber cover the corner of his top lip. Lisa only laughed. She knew that he didn't like when she did that, but she thought it was sweet. It was easy getting babies to learn how to kiss, but you could write a book on how to get them to do it without getting slobber all over the recipient.

"We've gotta teach this kid how to give kisses with her mouth closed," he said wiping the slobber away.

"Don't wipe her kiss away," she told him. "She's being nice to you, which you should be happy for after that smack you received earlier. And you let her fall," she said eyeing him with a smile, knowing that one of the main reasons he invited her to eat out with him was because he wanted to see if she was still upset with him about that.

She wasn't upset anymore. She had long ago realized that the little girl moved around a lot and had had caught her about to crawl off of the edge of the bed herself a few times. The first time she had fallen trying to climb up on the sofa, she had been on the phone with her mother. Her mother told her that baby's fall, that's how they learn to walk. She had soon come to accept this. Her only job was to make sure that she didn't fall off of anything to high, and to clear a path so he didn't fall on anything to hurt herself.

"First off all," he started, "I wiped of the slobber, not the kiss. And are you ever going to let that go?"

"It's gone," she told him with a smirk. Then she remembered the conversation she had had with Amy earlier. "Oh, guess what," she said excitedly, but didn't give him a chance to answer. "I found a sitter."

"You, found a babysitter," he said a little shocked that she had found someone she deemed worthy enough to take care of Hayden. The only reason she had chosen the daycare that she went to now was because everyone that worked there had an extensive background in childcare are was enrolled in school in some type of childcare program. That made the bill they received every month pretty expensive. He was about to argue that they could find some place cheaper, but the look she gave him when he opened his mouth to protest quieted him quickly.

"Yes, I did?" she said knowing what he was thinking.

"Who might I ask is lucky or unlucky enough to gain your approval to babysit the little monster?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "She's not a monster," she told him. He always claimed that they little girl became evil whenever he was left alone with her. She knew he was over exaggerating. She was just active and he just didn't want to have to run behind her all the time. She also didn't let him sleep whenever she was awake. He would put her in the bed next to him with a few of her toys to occupy her so he could finish sleeping, but she wouldn't let him sleep. He would usually just give up on sleeping and get up and play with her. "And Dr. Macon's daughter is going to be babysitting."

"Isn't she like eleven?"

"No, she' turning sixteen," she told him.

"How much are we paying her?"

"I was thinking maybe eight dollars any hour…,"

"Eight dollars an hour?" he asked a little shocked. "That's more than I get paid."

"It is not," she told him as the waitress came up to them to take their order.

"Can't we get away with paying her four?"

"Greg," she scolded him for even thinking the thought. She had had a nice talk with Amy, and knew that the girl would be getting a car for her sixteenth birthday. That meant if they wanted her to be their babysitter they would have to pay her a decent amount. She figured eight dollars an hour was good for a teenager with a car.

"Fine," he said allowing Hayden to stand up in the booth next to him. She had wiggled her way out of his arms and used her little hands to hold herself up in a standing position. He knew the only other option was to not let the girl babysit and they continue staying at home on weekends are going places they could only take the baby with them.

"Greg stop her," Lisa said, noticing the baby was not standing on her toes and reaching her hand to play with the woman's hair who sat behind him. He grabbed the little girl's hand, but not before the woman turned around with a smile.

"I'm sorry," Lisa apologized.

"Oh, it's fine," the woman said with a smile. "Hello sweetheart," she said looking back at Hayden.

She only stared at the woman for a few seconds before deciding she really didn't want to talk to her and crawled back into her daddy's lap. The woman only laughed and turned around to continue the conversation she was having with the rest of her family.

"We can't take you anywhere can we?" he said. The little girl only smiled and began playing in his face.

They talked a little while longer before Lisa got up to go to the bathroom. While she was gone, the waitress brought their food. Greg picked up a fry and held it right over Hayden's mouth. The little girl opened her mouth, waiting for the fry to enter, but it never did. Greg had a smirk on his face as the little girl kept her mouth open and reached her hand up to try and grab the fry. He only raised it a little higher so she couldn't reach it. He noticed Lisa sliding back in the booth across from him.

"Look Lise," he said highly amused by the goings on.

"Don't tease her," she told him, as she watched the little girl stand on her toes and try to climb his chest to get to the fry.

"Her arms are so short," was his only reply.

"Greg," she said, but before she could tell him to stop again. The little girl sighed and babbled something as she turned her attention away from the fry, her daddy was taking to long to give her. She spotted a plate full of things that looked just like they yummy thing he had in his hand and before he could stop her she had leaned over and grabbed a hand full of them.

"No," he said trying to stop her, but it was too late. Lisa grabbed her hand and tried to pry it open, but the little girl only gripped them tighter, squishing a few of them in the process as she geared up to throw a tantrum.

"Wait," Lisa said as she managed to pry the fries from her hand. The little girl started to get louder in her fussing, but immediately stopped when her mother placed two fries in her tiny little palms.  
She giggled and began bending her knees as she 'danced' to the up beat song that had just come over the radio in the place and stuck a fry in her mouth making it soggy as she continued her movement. They only laughed at her, making her let out a hearty laugh of her own before she resumed her dance.

They ate and talked for a while, neither of them really in a rush to get up and leave. It was always nice to get out, the three of them, since they rarely got to do it because of their schedule. The waitress brought Hayden a cookie, after which Greg told them they weren't paying for it. She laughed and told them that it was on the house, after the little girl had seemingly taken a liking towards her. She of course made a mess of herself with it. After Lisa had cleaned her up, she was a little cranky and cried to go back to her father. Not long after, she had fallen asleep in his arms. They stayed a little while longer, but decided to go not wanting to keep her out too late. The managed to get her coat on without waking her and Greg went to stand in the front of the restaurant, while Lisa signed the receipt for the waitress. As usual, he got complemented on what a beautiful baby she was by the people passing by that adored the little girl sleeping peacefully in his arms, her head resting against his chest. He replied with 'thanks' which Lisa had taught him to be the appropriate response and not the 'I know' he used to give.

He saw Lisa walking towards him with a pastel cap she had pulled from the diaper bag, and he immediately began to protest.

"No, why do you always put that goofy hat on her?" he asked as she proceeded to pull it down on the baby's head. It was one of those with the little pom-pom on top and the flap that goes over the ears. It was night time and considerably colder out. She didn't want her getting sick.

"It's not goofy," she told him as she continued pulling the cap down on the baby's head. She looked down and smiled when she saw Hayden's eyes were slightly open. "I think it's cute." She kissed her nose and the little girl smiled sleepily before her eyes closed again and she fell back into a deep sleep. Lisa interlaced her fingers with his free hand and they walked out of the restaurant together.

* * *

A/N: I hope you likey, and don't forget to review.


	38. Chapter 37

"Com'on baby, eat something for Mommy please," she begged as she held the spoon up to the baby's mouth. The little girl only turned her head away from her so she could not put the tiny spoon in her mouth. Lisa let out an exasperated sigh. The child hadn't eaten anything all day. The people at the nursery had said she wouldn't take anything, and the little she did take at the beginning of the day, she threw it all up. She could tell that she wasn't feeling very well, but she wanted her to at least eat something.

"What's wrong with her?" Greg asked as he brought the last of the groceries into the kitchen. He had talked to her earlier on the phone and heard the little girl crying. He figured something was up when she told him the only reason she was crying was because she sat her down.

"She doesn't feel well and I can't get her to eat anything," she told him.

He studied the baby as she laid her head on the top of the high chair. "Does she have a fever?"

"A small one," Lisa said as she gave up and sat the bowl aside. She stood and picked up the little girl who only cuddled up against her. "Did you take her out without her coat?"

"No," he said a little offended. "Why is it every time something happens it's my fault? She probably picked it up from one of those little petri dishes at the nursery."

She sighed and laid her head lightly against Hayden's. She was getting warmer. She grabbed an empty bottle from the counter and went to the refrigerator. She filled it with pedialyte and put it to the baby's mouth. She usually didn't like it and she figured that the fact that it was cold and she was hot was the only reason she took it. She was happy she did. She sat down on the sofa and began rubbing the child's back.

"Hey Lise, you want some pasta?" Greg yelled from the kitchen.

"Yes please," she told him. It was her night to cook dinner, but she was happy that he had taken into account that she had been busy with Hayden all evening since she picked her up from the nursery. She was happy that she hadn't had too many notes that day to study because it didn't look like she was going to get anything done that night.

She reached over and grabbed the thermometer by its handle. She tried to place the metal tip in the baby's ear, but the little girl only let out a small cry before turning her head. "Let mommy take your temperature baby," she pleaded.

Either the little girl felt sympathy for her after hearing the tiredness in her voice or she was just too weak herself to fight back because she let her take the temperature without anymore fuss. She pressed the button after sticking the nozzle in the baby's ear and a few seconds later it beeped. "One-o-one point one," she said out loud to herself. The baby's temperature had risen .5 degrees in the last couple of hours.

She put the thermometer down and picked up the cordless phone and dialed Dr. Johannsen's number. She wanted him to be on alert just incase her temperature spiked too high and she had to bring her into the emergency room. She told him what was going on and he told her just to keep giving her pedialyte and keep tabs on her temperature. She was told to keep trying to feed her just to see if she would take something even if she didn't keep it down. He said it was probably a little virus and that she should give her some Motrin for the fever, but if her temperature rose above 102 degrees to call him and bring her into the ER.

"Okay, thank you Dr. Johanssen." She hung up the phone and looked down to see that Hayden had fallen asleep. 'Well at least she's getting some rest,' she thought to herself. She had fallen asleep on the way home, but had woken up, and never went back to sleep. She knew she was tired though. She started to rub small, soothing circles in the baby's back as she let out another sigh. She could tell it was going to be a long night. This was what her mother had warned her about. She was tired, she needed to study, but she didn't want to put the baby down for fear she would wake up. If she wouldn't eat, she at least wanted her to get a little rest. A sympathetic look came to her face and she kissed the baby on the forehead. She just wanted her to feel better. She had never been this sick and she hated seeing her suffer. Even though she was asleep she could tell the baby was still a little uncomfortable.

"Food's finished," Greg said walking into the living room. He reached for the baby and Lisa handed her to him, but the little girl woke up during the transition and began crying and reaching for her mother again.

"Hayden it's daddy," he tried, figuring the little girl was just disoriented after being waken and didn't know who's arms she was in. But to know avail, her cries only grew louder as she continued to reach for Lisa.

"Just give her to me," she said taking the baby back. She already wasn't feeling well, there was no reason to make her cry.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I can take her."

"I'm sure," she said as she got up from the couch to go into the kitchen to get her food. He had already fixed it and she stood up next to the counter and began eating. After eating a few forkfuls herself she held the fork to the baby's mouth.

"Want some?" The little girl didn't respond at first so she passed the fork gently on her lips leaving some of the sauce. Hayden usually had to get a taste of a lot of things before she decided she was going to eat it. She licked the sauce off and after her mouth continued to move long after the sauce was gone, Lisa chopped up a few pieces of the pasta and placed the fork to the girl's mouth again. This time she opened her mouth to receive the contents. A small smile came to her face after she realized the baby was at least going to attempt to eat something. "You like pasta?" It was a new food for her.

"Hmmm," Greg said as he walked into the kitchen. "So she just wouldn't eat your food. Either your food's really bad or mines really good. Since I haven't died from food poisoning, I'll go with the latter."

She smiled at him and rolled her eyes. "Well you know what they say, if you don't die from one thing, you die in your sleep."

His mouth fell open and she started laughing. "I knew you were trying to get rid of me. "

"I'm not. I would never," she said as she grabbed his collar and pulled him down to her so their faces were only inches apart. "I love you too much." She pressed her lips to his giving him a tender kiss before pulling away. She smiled up at him and he pressed his lips to hers, invading her mouth with his tounge as his hands went to her hips pinning her against the counter. She felt him begin to lean into her and before she could say anything Hayden started to fuss in her arms as she held her arm out to try to create space between her parents. Lisa managed to push him off a little.

"Greg, you're squishing her."

"Well you started it."

"It's okay baby," she said ignoring him.

The baby didn't cry long before she babbled a few short words in a fussy tone and hit Greg in the chest. Lisa burst into laughter and Greg smiled.

"Sorry smurf," he said before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Lisa managed to feed her a little bit more food before she began turning her head and knocking it away.

"Hey babe," Lisa said walking into the living room. She went and stood next to the television with Hayden resting against her chest. "I know you're watching the game, but do you mind running to the store to get a bottle of Motrin?"

He looked away from her and back towards the television. He looked back to them. One of them had just threatened his life, and the other had just fussed at and physically abused him.

"Do I have a choice?"

Her face fell. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm just joking," he said getting up from the couch and grabbing his wallet.

"You better be," she said as she headed towards the stairs.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," he called to her as he left house.

* * *

"Why is this crap so high?" he said to himself as he looked at the different flavors of all the different medicines down the isle. "This should be in alphabetical order."

He finally found the motrin and was about to head to the counter when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Get some vapor rub. She's stopped up" he heard Lisa's voice come over the speaker.

"What? You can't put that stuff on a baby."

"That's why I'm not going to put it on her. I'm going to put it on you."

"But I'm not…,"

"Greg just get the vapor rub," she told him impatiently. "And hurry back. She's starting to whine again."

"Okay, I'll take her when I get home and you can get some sleep."

"No it's fine," she said. "I'm tired, but I'm not going to class tomorrow."

"Why aren't you going to class?"

"My baby's sick," she told him as if it was the stupidest question that could be asked. "I'm not leaving her at the nursery. I called Lori, I'll get the notes from her."

"You're such a good mommy?"

She was quiet for a little while and he knew she was smiling. "Hurry home," she said sweetly.

He hung up and walked to the towards the checkout counters. He had gotten in the shortest line he could find when his phone rung again. He figured it was Lisa.

"Yes mistress," he said sarcastically, "what else can I get for you this fine evening."

"If you could come over that would be great," he heard a female voice say from the other end of the phone.

"Mel," he said.

"The one and only," she said before her voice turned serious. "Greg, I really need someone to talk to. I wish you would just come over."

"You can talk to me over the phone."

"It's too personal," she reasoned. "I just figured we were friends since we talked that night. I thought I could call you if I needed someone to talk to."

He was quiet. She had been a friend to him, albeit an almost deadly friend, but he saved himself from that and she accepted that. He just didn't trust himself being alone with her though.

"I'm not trying to pull anything," she said. "I promise."

"Mel, I wish I could," he said. "I really do, but my baby's sick and I can't leave. I have to be home tonight."

It was her turn to be silent. "Okay, maybe some other time. I hope she feels better soon."

Before he could reply, she hung up. He took a deep breath and let it out. He checked out and headed back home. When he got there he found Lisa upstairs putting Hayden's all in one pajamas on her. She was crying and he was politely informed that she had cried the whole time Lisa was bathing her. She finished buttoning the white pajamas with the pink and lilac flowers and handed her to him.

"Geesh, pipe down kid," he said as the girls cries grew louder.

He followed Lisa downstairs and she went into the kitchen and returned with a medicine drop and the motrin.

"Here take this," she tried to give it to the baby but she shook her head and began reaching for her mother again.

Without saying anything, Greg laid the little girl down in his arms and held her flailing little hands as Lisa squirted the medicine into the corner of her mouth. Her cries dampened a little as the medicine trickled down her throat and Greg handed her to Lisa as he took the bottle of Motrin. She began bouncing the baby up and down and shushing her.

"This should so be going in a completely different direction right now," he said as he put his hands on Lisa's thighs, beginning to rub them. She smiled down at him and rubbed the last of the vapor rub into his chest as she straddled him.

"Not tonight buddy," she said playfully as she pulled his shirt down.

Just then Hayden took a deep breath and they could hear the congestion. To her own surprise, she had managed to get the little girl to go to sleep long enough to take her bath and even longer since she was still asleep.

"Aww baby," she said as she reached over and picked the sleeping child up. "I hope you feel better." She kissed the little girl's nose and continued watching her. The motrin had helped the fever, and she was ecstatic that it didn't look like the little girl would be warranting a trip to the ER that night.

"She'll be fine," Greg said, beginning to rub Lisa's thighs again after seeing the worried look on her face.

She placed the sleeping baby on his chest so the left over vapors could open up the congestion a little and he placed his arm around her to keep her there safely. She climbed off of him and reached over to the night stand to turn off the lamp.

"Goodnight," she said.

Goodnight," he said. She immediately began giggling as she felt a firm hand against her backside making a loud smacking sound.

They both closed their eyes and drifted into a fatigue induced sleep. That didn't last long however as they were awaken by an antsy cry, only a couple of hours later.

Lisa opened her eyes and sighed when she saw the clock read '3:18'. She rolled over to face Greg who was coming out of his sleep also. She saw that Hayden had pushed herself up on her father's chest and had begun to wail non-stop.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know," was his reply as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, resting against the headboard.

She felt the baby's forehead before getting up and leaving the room. Greg began trying to soothe the baby, and her cries quieted a little, only to get even louder. Lisa returned soon with the thermometer and the bottle of Motrin.

"Hold her head," she said climbing back into the bed.

He held the baby's head against his chest which only served to make her cry louder. Her little hand began to flail and he caught it between his forefinger and his thumb. Lisa stuck the nozzle in her ear. "One-o-one point six," she said turning the thermometer so he could read it. She grabbed the bottle of Motrin and he continued to hold the baby's head and hand as she continued wailing, allowing her mother to squirt more medicine down her throat.

She sat and just stared at the baby. She was starting to get worried again. "Do you think her temperature is too high? Do you think I should call Dr. Johannsen?"

"He said one-o-two right?"

"Yeah, but it's pretty close."

"Give the medicine a chance to work again," he reassured her. "If it continues to climb we'll take her in. Okay?"

She nodded and wiped some sleep from her eyes before taking the baby from him. She climbed out of the bed and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Down stairs," she said yawning, "so you can get some sleep." Hayden was still crying rather loudly.

"You don't want me to stay up with you?"

"No, tomorrow's Friday. I'm not going to class, and it's the weekend. I'll be fine. Get some sleep, you have to go to work."

"Lise, if you want me to stay up with you I can."

"No it's fine."

"It woul…,"

"Greg, I said it's fine," she said sounding a little irritated now.

He studied her. He didn't know what she meant anymore. She said one thing and meant something entirely different.

"You aren't going to kill me in my sleep are you?"

"No," she told him, "but I will kill you while you're awake."

"Good enough for me," he said as he began to lay back down.

She took the crying baby and went down stairs. The cries became distant and he slipped back into a peaceful sleep, appreciative to the fact that she hadn't made him stay up with her.

She managed to quiet the baby down a little, but she was still crying on and off. When the Motrin kicked in and blunted the fever a little, she managed to get the baby back to sleep. She too had fallen asleep, when the phone rang. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 6:45, which meant Greg had already left for work.

"Lisa?" her mother's confused voice answered to her hello. "Are you okay sweetie? You sound sick."

"I'm fine Mom, I'm just tired."

"Well," her mother's voice changed to one of excitement, "I just wanted you to know that Jen had the baby."

"Really? What did she have?" She said getting as excited as her energy would allow her. She was still a little outdone with her sister since she failed to tell anyone that she was three months pregnant when she came to the hospital for Hayden's birth.

"A girl," her mother answered.

"That's great," she said as she began to rub the baby's back. "Now Hayden will have a girl cousin her age."

"How is my little angel?" her mother asked.

"Not too good. She's sick."

"Aww really?"

"Yeah, I was up all night with her." She looked at the now sleeping baby. She felt sorry for her sister. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. It was hard taking care of a baby, but then a smile came to her face as she realized that it was all worth it.

"Poor baby," her mother said. "I hope she feels better."

"Is Daddy still mad at me?" she asked a little more quietly. Her dad had gotten very upset with her when she told him that she wouldn't be able to make it when Jen had the baby. Between school and Hayden, she just couldn't get away. She had already felt guilty, but he made her feel even guiltier when he pointed out that Jen had dropped everything to come to her side when she went into labor. But Jen was a homemaker, and the only person inside that home at the time besides her was Ben and he could take care of himself for a few days. And of course he would never pass up the chance to tell her that if she forgot about school and got her priorities straight that she would have time to be there for her family, which she knew included Hayden. Jen had told her not to worry about it and she understood, but she still felt a little bad about it. She knew that her sister would still rather have her there by her side. She knew she felt better that Jen was with her when Hayden was born.

"Don't worry about him," her mother told her. "He'll get over it."

She knew that meant that he was still mad with her. She sighed and managed to perk up her voice a little.

"Well tell Jen and Benjamin congratulations and I hope to see the baby as soon as I can get away," she said.

"I sure will," her mother said. "And get some rest baby."

"Easier said than done."

"I warned you," her mother said.

"Bye mom," she said with a smile. She hung up the phone and passed back out within a matter of seconds.

She was up a few hours later when Hayden began fussing again. She wasn't really crying, just really fussy and wanted to be held. She called Dr. Johannsen's office and he told her to bring her in, he would squeeze her into the schedule. He confirmed both their suspicions that it was just a really bad cold. There wasn't really much she could do, but try and keep the fever down and keep her comfortable and hydrated. He also told her to continue to try and get her to eat something. He assured her that she would be fine and she went back home, pleased that the baby had decided not to cry all day like she had done the night before.

* * *

Lisa's eyes fluttered open when she heard the soft babbling coming from the baby next to her. The last two days had been hell to say the least and she didn't know how much more she could take. It was Sunday and she was hoping that she wouldn't have to miss another day of class. She smiled when she saw Hayden talking quietly to her little monkey.

"Hey sweetie, you feeling better?"

"Yeah, since I actually got a fulls night rest in forever," Greg said rolling over to face them. The babbling had woke them too.

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you," she said giggling.

Hayden, hearing her daddy's voice turned and started to play in his face.

"Com'ere," he said picking her up and placing her on his chest. Lisa took the opportunity to scoot closer to him. "You feeling better?"

She only held the monkey to his lips so he could kiss it. "Gross, I don't wanna kiss that thing kid. You've puked on it more times than I can count."

"Kiss it Greg," Lisa said bringing Hayden's hand closer to his mouth so the monkey was pressed against his lips. He shook his head to get it off.

Hayden only giggled at the silliness of her parents.

"I'm so happy you feel better sweetie," Lisa said grabbing Hayden as she climbed out of bed. "Are you hungry?"

He smiled, knowing that she was still worried about the little girl not having eaten much over the last few days.

His cell phone rang and he grabbed it off of the nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Greg?"

"Mel?"

"Yeah, how's your baby doing?"

"She's better," he said sitting up in bed and peeping out of the door to make sure Lisa hadn't come back upstairs.

"Great. Does that mean you'll be able to make it over tonight?"

"Mel," he said taking a hesitant breathe, "I don't think that's suck a good idea."

"Why not?" she asked sounding disappointed.

"Because I'm with Lisa. I have a family. She already knows about what happened before and she'd be pissed if she knew that I was still talking to you let alone if I came to your apartment."

"Well I don't see what the big deal is," she started with an attitude now. "We're friends. You can't have friends now Greg."

"Mel, I'm not coming over to your apartment. I can talk to you at work and that's it, if you can't accept that, please stop calling my phone."

He heard a click on the other end of the phone. He let out a deep breath and headed down stairs.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys like it and Merry Christmas... It would be a wonderful present to me if you could leave a review :)


	39. Chapter 38

A/N:Hope this continues the flow of the story.

* * *

"Oh wow," Greg said as he felt the side of his shirt start to get a little warmer. "That's just what I needed. Thanks a lot kid." He looked at the little girl in his arms that was still obliviously sucking on her fingers.

She didn't see anything wrong, but obviously her Daddy had his pants in a bunch about something. She looked from him nonchalantly figuring he could handle whatever was plaguing him on his on, and looked back to her Mommy who was gathering her clothes for the day so she could put something on other than the towel that was currently wrapped around her.

Lisa looked over to see what Greg was going on about. They had just finished giving Hayden a bath and he was currently holding her. She was about to ask what the problem was, but a smile came to her face when she saw the growing wet spot on his T shirt. She waited until the spot seemingly finish spreading before she took the little girl from her father, still smiling. These two really did make for some good entertainment she thought. She kissed the baby's forehead before cuddling her closer.

"Oh great," he started. "She pees on me and she gets a kiss. When I peed on someone, I got yelled at and didn't get any kisses or anything else for three days."

Her mouth fell open. "You were twenty four and you were drunk," she told him. "You almost went to jail."

"Drunk, being a baby… I don't see the difference." He said as he left the room to go and change is shirt.

Lisa kissed the babies cheek again, before whispering in her ear, "Good girl." The little girl smiled as she reached for her mother's long raven locks.

She laid the baby down on the changing table and grabbed the diaper to put it on her before she had another incident. He walked back into the room as Lisa put the jean bubble shorts that puffed out a little on the baby. She then proceeded to put the multicolored spaghetti strapped shirt that flare out like a dress with little bows on the shoulders over the little girls head. She gave a small fuss as she usually did when a shirt went over her head.

"What are you doing with those bows?" he asked skeptically as she carried Hayden over to the little armoire in the corner of the room

She just looked at him and smiled. The little girl had enough hair now that the bows wouldn't look like they were taking over her head. Besides, they were little bows, and the matched the green and blue in her pretty little shirt. This was her girl, and later on when they had more kids, she'd let him have full reign over their little boy. But he wasn't going to stop her from dressing up her little girl.

"It'll be cute. You'll see," she told him. She handed the little girl to him, and he watched hesitantly as she wrapped the little bows around the two little ponytails she had made. After she put them in, Hayden looked to him as if asking if she should began the process of pulling them out. He couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face, it was cute on her. The puffy cheeks and the tiny little rosey lips, he figured had a lot to do with it.

Lisa smiled too. She could tell he liked it, and that she had won this battle.

"Let's get going," she told him as she stuffed a few more things into the diaper bag. They were going to stop and have lunch on their way to the airport.

They decided to eat at an outside café, since it was such a beautiful day out.

"Are you sure you don't want to come? Its free." he told her as she stared at Hayden who sat in her stroller, making sure that the bread dipped in tomato sauce she had given her nor the small piece of chicken she had told Greg not to give her was too much for her. The little girl seemed to be handling both fine, her mouth hadn't stopped going since the food had arrived. A smile came to her face at his next comment. "We could make it a game, travel around to paid medical conferences and see how many states we could make babies in."

They had long come to the conclusion that Hayden was indeed conceived in Boston. "Sure," she told him, "as soon as we find a way for you to carry some of those babies for nine months and then birth them."

"Oh com'on," he joked. "You looked like you were having fun while you were in labor."

She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. It was a wonderful experience looking back on it, but she was in no rush to do it again. She wanted more children; maybe near the end of her residency would be a good time to start trying for another baby.

She sat back in her chair and took in the sunny spring afternoon. "I think we're going to go to the park after we drop you off," she told him as she leaned forward to pick the baby up from the stroller.

"No fair," he said. "You wait until I leave to do the fun stuff."

"You're going to New Orleans," she told him. "I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy the 'fun stuff' down there, more then you'd enjoy going to the park."

He smiled. "Would you fly down to get me out of the drunk tank?"

"By the time I got there, you'd be sober."

"That's not the point," he told her.

"Well what is the point, Greg?" she said seductively as she slipped her shoe off and leaned forward as she began to run her bare foot around his calf and up his ankle.

He just stared at her as a seductive smile came to her face. "Are you trying to make me miss my flight?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said as she pulled her foot away. She batted her eyelashes at him coyly before focusing her attention back on Hayden, rubbing her nose against the little girl's, making her laugh. This only seemed to turn him on more. How could she be this seductive sex kitten one moment, making him want to jump her right then and there, then without missing a beat, turn into the best mother he could ever choose for his kid. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his face as he watched the two of them.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay while I'm out of town this weekend?" he asked. He knew it was coming down to crunch time for her to take her boards.

"Mmhm," she told him as the little girl burrowed her face into her neck. "We'll be fine. It's the weekend and Amy said she could stay as long as I needed her to. She doesn't have any plans."

"The eight dollar an hour girl," he said.

"Stop complaining," she told him. "You only have two more months of residency. We can play the how many states game and you could end up paying her more."

He looked up at her to find her smiling at him as he went in his pocket to pull out money to pay the check the waiter had just placed on their table. "Very funny."

They packed up all of Hayden's things and headed back to the car. Twenty minutes later, he was kissing them both goodbye. He tried to grope with Lisa, but she pinched his nipple as his hand squeezed her butt. It was going to be a fun weekend, he thought, as he got on the plan, but he was missing them already.

"Sam…Sam…Sam don't hang…," obviously his begging in a threatening tone didn't work, "up."

'Must be having problems,' he thought as the man hung up the oversized phone and disappeared into his hotel room. He felt a little sorry for the man. It had only been a few months ago when he wasn't sure if he and Lisa were going to make it.

He slid the card key in the lock and waited until he heard the latch click before opening the door. "Sweet," he said as he saw the beautiful view the large windows on the other end of the room afforded him. He had no problem with going to these conferences. It seems they always found the best hotels in the city to host them.

He dropped his bag and grabbed the remote before falling back onto the bed. There was only actually two events he wanted to go to throughout the whole conference, one that evening and one the following day. He decided he would relax before it was time to get up and shower to head down to the speech that was to be given. He'd probably then come back to his room to change and check in with Lisa before he headed out for a night on the town in the Big Easy.

"Eight dollar girl?" he questioned as a semi familiar voice came over the other end of the receiver.

"Lisa!" the girl's voice rang out from the other end. "It's the cheapskate."

He rolled his eyes at the conformation that it was Amy, or eight dollar girl as he liked to call her. Lisa was happy that she had hired a teenager. She didn't know if a more mature adult could handle the constant badgering that Greg gave the girl.

"I'll take her," he heard Amy say, as a smile came to his face after hearing Hayden babbling in the background.

"Hey baby," was the next thing he heard as Lisa picked up the phone. "How's everything going?"

"Same as always," he told her. "Now I'm about to go get drunk."

"Greg please," she said sincerely, "don't end up in jail." She didn't want him ruining his career before it even got started all the way. Not that it would ruin his career, but if he got into that type of trouble at a medical conference, it would definitely make it harder for him to find a job. She wanted him to be able to stay at Hopkins, at least until she finished med school. She didn't want to have to break their family up in order for her to finish school and him to have a job. It seemed as if Hopkins was going to keep him after his residency was up. He had been on good behavior, well better behavior the second time around, and she couldn't help but notice that he started taking his responsibilities around the hospital a little more seriously after Hayden was born.

"I'm not going to end up in jail," he said half laughing and half offended. "Why do you always think I'm going to end up in jail?"

"Gee I don't know," she told him sarcastically. "Maybe it was because of that phone call I got at five in the morning, three hours before my physics final saying you needed to be bailed out. Or maybe it was that time we all had to leave the pub because your drunken rage made you get into a brawl. Or it could've been the time that…,"

"Okay, okay," he told her. "I see your point. But when was the last time you can remember that I got that drunk?"

She was quiet for a while; she was actually trying to think. She hadn't known him to get drunk since his mother had come to visit, and that was when Hayden was first born. He had had a few drinks, but he had never gotten drunk. And it had been even longer than that since he had gotten drunk to the point where it would lead him to do something stupid enough to make him end up in jail.

"I'm waiting," he said, making a smile come to her face.

"Alright you got me," she told him. "It doesn't hurt to remind you though. I don't want you doing anything stupid."

"Look, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I know how to handle my alcohol. You just worry about acing that test so you can be one step closer to helping me pay some of the bills," he said making her laugh.

"So how was your flight?" she asked.

"Yeah, change the subject now," he said with a smile as she started laughing again. They had already decided that she wouldn't be making anymore loans. At first she had protested, but after he had voiced the only reason he didn't want her to make anymore loans was because he would be the one stuck paying them back, she agreed with him. They wouldn't really be hurting much with his income alone once he finished residency, and if she continued to make loans, it would only put them further in a hole in the end. "It was fine," he continued.

"And the hotel?"

"Good," he told her. "Great view. Fun all around."

"Yeah, well, don't have too much fun," she said in a slightly serious tone.

"Don't worry," he told her. "I'll save that fun for home."

Just then, he heard Amy call Lisa from the background, she yelled something and Lisa came back to the phone.

"I have to go babe. I'll talk to you later."

"What are we paying her for if she can't handle everything on her own?" he asked. Sure Hayden was a handful, but eight dollars an hour, he thought, was worth that handful.

"Goodbye Greg," Lisa told him. "Call me before your flight leaves Sunday so I can know what time to pick you up."

"K," he told her before they both hung up.

He went to change out of the dressier clothes he had worn to the conference, and into something more suitable for a bar. He wandered around the city for a while, mingling with some of the men he had met at the conference and having a few drinks with them. None of them where interesting enough to hold his attention though. So he ended up leaving them, only to go to another bar to find another group of men, just as uninteresting. He finally wandered into a bar that looked like it had been abandoned by the visitors of the conference. All except for one anyway. He eyed the man for a while before walking in. He didn't look like he was going to be the talkative type.

He sat two booths away from the man, who didn't even seem to notice him, or anyone for that matter. He was too engrossed in whatever was in the gold envelope that sat on the table next to him. He had a glass of whiskey next to him, and it didn't look like it was his first round either.

He ordered a glass of bourbon and sat back, taking in the sound of the blues music coming through the speakers of the juke box.

"Can I get another whiskey here?" the brown haired man in the other boot yelled, making Greg turn his attention back to him. The waitress began filling his order.

He studied the man longer. He threw the papers down and ran his fingers through his hair. Whatever words were printed on them were surely getting to him. He began sipping on his bourbon, still keeping an eye on the man that had him slightly interested now. The brown eyed man picked up the papers again, glanced over them, shook his head and placed his hand over his mouth as he leaned forward on it, before continuing to read the papers.

The waitress arrived with the whiskey he had order and he snatched it from her hand. She only rolled her eyes at him before walking away. He smiled to himself as he thought he found his entertainment for the time being. He took another sip of his bourbon and settled into the booth for a while.

He sat at the booth for about thirty minutes. He had created a game for himself. He figured the man had been through about five or six rounds of whiskey, and he had narrowed the paperwork down to him being fired, sued, or judging from his conversation on the phone, divorce or child support papers.

"Com'on little lady," a slightly older man said to a girl that was a little too young for him to be entertaining in a bar. The man put a few coins in the jukebox and chose a song. Greg turned back to the man at the booth as he let out an audible noise, disapproving of something new in his environment.

The man and the woman started dancing to the song as the man in the booth became increasingly disgruntled. Greg smiled, waiting for the top to blow. It didn't take too long.

"Would you turn that damn song off!" The man jumped up and yelled as he threw the cup of whiskey at the jukebox, hitting the antique mirror next to it instead. Everyone in the placed stopped and looked at the man. The place was silent except for the song playing in the background. Some people were pissed, others confused, but Greg's face was the only one that beamed with amusement.

The man looked around uncomfortably before sitting back in his booth.

"Hey buddy," the man said coming from behind the bar. "That there was an antique."

The brown eyed man took a deep breath, as the man approached his booth. "I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."

He pulled out a few hundred dollars and handed it to the man. The man only looked at him as if he were crazy.

"I guess you didn't here me," the man started again. "I said that there was an antique."

The brown eyed man just looked at him confused, until he caught on to the meaning of his words. His eyes grew wide. "This is all I have."

"Well that ain't gonna cover it," the round man started again. "Jessie, go get that cop."

The girl left from behind the bar and started for the door.

"No, no," the brown eyed man started. "You don't have to do that. I can get more money. I just need time." The round man wasn't trying to hear what he had to say. He wanted cash money, in his hand right then and there. "I can get more money," the brown eyed man made one last attempt before the officer walked up to them.

"Is there a problem here?" the officer said eyeing what was undoubtfully the tourist.

"No there's no problem," the brown eyed man tried to say.

"There sure is," the round man told the police.

"This drunk bastard here broke my mirror," the round man told the police.

"Pressing charges?"

"Damn right I am," the round man said looking the brown eyed man square in the eye.

"I said I can get more money," the brown eyed man started.

"Sir, you have the right to remain silent," the officer started, reading him his Miranda Rights. He rolled his eyes and decided to shut up, since nothing he would say would stop him from going to jail.

Greg watched, still amused at the scene that had transpired before him. The guy had guts, well a little. He wussed out a little at the end. Well, at least he was free to read his abandoned papers now. He slid out of his booth and into the man's booth. He smiled when one of his theories proved to be right. They were divorce papers. This James Wilson sounded like an interesting person, he had found his drinking buddy for the weekend.

He grabbed the papers, finished his bourbon and left the bar. He found out from one of the patrol officers on the street where the parish jail was, deciding he needed to bail the guy out in order for him to be able to drink with him.

He found out the guy's bail wouldn't be set until morning, so he decided to go back to the hotel and sleep off the alcohol before he two ended up in jail, then Lisa would be mad at him, and it would be downhill from there. He would get it up in the morning and go bail the guy out.

"Who bailed me out?" James asked the officer as they walked to the front desk.

"Your friend."

"But I don't know anyone down here," he replied.

"Or maybe you just don't remember. Alcohol has that affect on some people," the officer told him.

He rolled his eyes. The people there were really sarcastic.

"Hello," he heard as he rounded the corner to find a taller man with a lighter shade of brown hair smiling at him. He seemed to be a little older too.

"Do I know you?" he asked skeptically.

"Aw com'on," he said. "You don't remember your old friend. It's me. Greg."

"Take your belongings out of the tray sir unless we're going to hand them out to the homeless," the woman officer said.

James began taking his things from the tray that had been set in front of him. Greg watched as the man took his watch from the tray and snapped it on his wrist.

"You forgot this?" the older man said nonchalantly as he extended the gold envelope towards the man.

"Thanks," he said as he grabbed the envelope from him.

"That Samantha," Greg started again, "sounds like a real bitch."

"You read my papers?" the main asked in disbelief.

"Well yeah. You just left them out in the open for anyone to read."

"I did not leave them out…," he started but was interrupted.

"Well how did I get them?"

James rolled his eyes, and stepped around Greg.

"Hey, you owe me."

James stopped where he stood. He did owe the guy for bailing him out. He reached into his pocket and took out the four hundred dollars he had offered the man at the bar the night before. He turned around and walked back to where Greg stood.

"This is all I have," he said handing it to Greg.

"Your bail was fifteen hundred."

"Okay, let me find an ATM," James said.

"That's okay. Lunch will do," Greg said as he started to walk towards the exit. "I hear they have really good food out here."

James just looked after the man stunned, not being able to say anything. He thought it was a good idea. After all, there was no way that buying this man lunch could cost more than the eleven hundred dollars that he owed him.

"Just to ease my curiosity," James started as he fell in stride alongside the man, "who are you?"

"Greg House," he said extending his hand for the first formal introduction. "I'm a chief resident at Hopkins, soon to be an attending, hopefully."

"James Wilson," the other man started, but was interrupted.

"Already knew that," he told him.

James just ignored him and continued. "Soon to be second year resident at U Penn."

"Nice to meet you," Greg said as he turned to go into a restaurant. "This looks like a good place."

The two men had lunch and discussed certain things. It was mostly Greg prying into James personal issues. The man was reluctant at first to discuss, but soon unleashed his anger. He had been working during residency and moonlighting when possible in order to support him and his wife while she was in school, so obviously he wasn't home much. Apparently that caused a problem within his marriage and it resulted in his wife sending him divorce papers while he was at the conference and moving to Catonsville with her sister until the divorce was final. The man then proceeded to get on the phone to try to change his plan tickets so he could fly to Baltimore. Greg tried to tell him not to, that the woman was a selfish bitch, but once he saw the man was adamant about trying to save his marriage, his only reply was, "We should hang out then. You owe me more lunch."

The two men then went back to the hotel, each of them going to their separate rooms. They hung out a few more times during the conference and found that they were on the same plan to Baltimore.

He smiled as he heard the sleepy wails coming from the other side of the door. Lisa must've had her hands full, since she hadn't bothered to try to contact him about calling her to pick him up. He had decided to catch a ride home with James since the man had decided to rent a car to drive out to Catonsville. He unlocked the door quietly and walked down the small hall that served as the foyer. When he rounded the corner, he was met by a backside that he had become very familiar with and one he thought was one of the finest he had ever seen. Lisa was bent over near the couch, her hand sweeping blindly under the couch. She had on one of his button ups that usually fell almost midway her thigh when she was standing, but with her bent over, it had ridden up in the back exposing her white and pink bikini cut cotton panties. She had Hayden clinging to her hip and the little girl was crying, not as loudly as she could though, he noticed. He could tell she was sleepy and was, as his mother would say, fighting her sleep. He began to walk slowly over to stand behind Lisa. As he stepped behind her, she stood quickly, revealing the pacifier she had obviously been searching for.

"Got it," she said triumphantly, as she bumped into Greg. She spun around quickly, as he her heart rate sped up. "Greg what the hell? You scared the hell out of me."

They were interrupted when Hayden started crying again. Lisa dipped the pacifier in the cup of water that was sitting on the coffee table, wiped it on her shirt and stuck it in the little girl's open mouth. She quickly quieted down, and Lisa turned back to him.

"How'd you get here?"

"James," he told her nonchalantly.

"Who's James?"

"Guy from the conference," he told her, before turning to Hayden.

"Hey smurf," he said passing a finger on her cheek to wipe away the tears. "Daddy missed you."

She only looked him up and down as she began to pull at one of the ponytails in her head, and they both looked at her, waiting for her reaction. She looked to her mother, then back to him, before her face frowned up and she began to cry again while holding the pacifier in her mouth. Lisa looked at him and threw her hands up in exasperation, as if it was his fault because he said something to her, before turning to go up the stairs.

"Amy I found it," she yelled. "You can go home now."

A few minutes later, the girl came running down with her backpack.

"Hey leech," he said as she passed by.

"Bye asshole," was her response as she left out of the door. He smiled; at least he knew Hayden wasn't picking up any habits he didn't approve of.

He went into the kitchen, in search of something to eat. He found some left overs in the fridge and started to warm them as Hayden's cries started to tone down. He was happy that Lisa was putting her to sleep, because he knew he would soon be left with the girl while she went to go study.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later, Lisa ran down, still in his shirt, with a pair of jeans on and her back pack.

"Okay, I'm leaving," she said as she bent down to kiss him on the corner of the mouth. "She's asleep and she might be hungry when she wakes up, so you can feed her. I'll see you later."

She was out the door. Greg decided he should probably take a nap too. He was pretty tired, having not slept much during the conference. He also had to get up and go to work early the next day. He decided to crash on the sofa, and was asleep within minutes.

"Baaawh!" He stirred a little, but brushed it off and went back to sleep. But that didn't last long.

"Oooowwhhh!" he sighed. He didn't know where the little girl had learned to call out to them like this. She didn't cry anymore when she woke up. She just started yelling, as if demanding someone to come into the room and pay attention to her.

"Waaagh!" he still didn't move. He didn't hear her calling out anymore so he figured he could get a few more minutes of sleep. The crash he heard next quickly erased that thought as he was wide awake now and quickly making his way up the stairs. When he got to the nursery door, he saw the little girl standing up with the pacifier still in her mouth, as she held on to the bars of he cribs. She just looked at him, then to the small table that housed a few small picture frames with pictures of her. Well, that used to house the picture frames. The toy monkey she and Lisa had affectionately named Clairabelle had knocked the picture frames to the floor and now it sat on top of the table.

He looked back to the little girl, who looked down and started playing with the bars of the crib, knowing she had done something that she wasn't supposed to.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he said as he walked over and picked the little girl up from the crib, placing a kiss on her cheek. "You can't just let me get any sleep, can you?"

He bought the little girl down stairs with him and sat on the sofa, turning the television on since he wasn't going to get any more sleep until Lisa came home. He remembered to feed her when Hayden gave her signal that the pacifier wasn't doing the job anymore. She took it out of her mouth and tried to place it into his mouth before starting to whine a little. He placed her in her high chair and pulled out some green beans. She took about two spoon fulls before she began frowning up and spitting it out and turning her head away. He topped it up figuring Lisa would have better luck with getting her to eat the veggies. He then pulled out his ace in the hole, not feeling like fighting with her through the other vegetables, the apple and banana cereal puree. The little girl gladly ate most of it and accepted a bottle of milk afterwards. She didn't finish the bottle however, before she started to cry again. He got on the floor and played with her, which only kept her quiet for a few minutes. This would be their routine for the rest of the day. He could only keep her quiet for about thirty minutes, tops, before she would start crying again. He was now walking around and bouncing her up and down, hoping she would stop crying or go back to sleep.

"Where is your mother?" he said out loud to no one in particular. The little girl continued to let her tears flow, not caring about the distress her daddy was in because of it. He sat down at the piano bench, and blew out a breath of air. Not thinking anything of it, he let his fingers fall onto the keys. The girl stopped crying upon hearing the sound, and twisted herself in his arms so she could see where the sound was coming from. He watched her as she pulled on the pacifier a few more times and turned to him. Her face started to frown up so he hit a few more keys, only to have her turn back towards the piano, the frown leaving her face. He turned her around and sat her on his lap, securing her with one arm as the fingers of the other hand began to dance across the keys.

He stopped and looked at her to make sure it was still working. She watched in amazement at the keys. Her little fingers then reached out to touch the keys, she couldn't get the keys to go down like her daddy could, so she began banging it with her whole hand.

"Hey kid, watch the merchandise," he said, but the little girl ignored him and continued to bang on the keys.

He scooted closer to the piano so he could balance her and use both of his hands to play. The baby seemed to like it because she removed her hand from the piano and started clapping. She tilted her head backwards to get a better look at him, and picked her hand up to touch his face. He leaned down and rubbed his scruffy cheek against hers, knowing she liked the feel, and she giggled before she clapped again and turn her attention back to the piano keys her daddy's fingers were so gracefully dancing over.

He didn't notice how long they had been sitting there, but he only stopped when Lisa walked through the door.

"Hey, you two had fun?" she asked as she walked over to the piano where they were.

"Tons," he said in the tone that let her know that he had barely survived the evening.

"Hey baby," she said as she sat next to him and placed a kiss on Hayden's cheek.

The little girl was too preoccupied with the fact that her daddy was no longer making the sounds come from the thingy they were sitting in front off. She grabbed his thumb in one of her little hands and his pinky in the other and he relaxed his muscles. She then led his hand back to the piano and placed them on top of the keys.

"I think she likes the way you play," Lisa said smiling up at him.

"Yeah," he agreed. "You might wanna check into buying some more of those little glass picture frames you had in her room."

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the read. Please review and let me know what you guys think about this chapter. Also let me know some situations or some things that you would like to see happen in this story. Sorry it's taking so long to update, but as you might be able to tell with my other stories, I'm getting better :). Review!


	40. Chapter 39

**A/N: Hey guys I know this is a shorter chapter (though I still think it's a fair length if I were updating regularly) and I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. This probably has a lot of errors that I will correct later, but I just wanted to get this up. Sorry for taking so long to update this one, like really long whew!**

* * *

He opened the door and instantly heard the babbles for all of a second before they stopped abruptly. Then he heard Lisa let out a playful gasp. "Who is it?" He heard her say. "Who is that Hayden? Is that Daddy?"

He smiled and turned to close and lock the door. When he turned back around he saw two little pig tails and a pudgy little face. She had crawled into the hallway just to see who it was. She had started to do that a lot when he came home early enough at night or he would stay overnight at the hospital and come home during the day. He smiled as he walked towards her and she sat back on her hunches and reached her hands in the air. He threw the backpack onto the chair and scooped her up making her smile. He began tickling her and she started laughing. He looked down at Lisa who was now smiling up at him and went to lie down next to her.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked. "You look," he noticed that she was now staring at him, "…nice." He kissed her lips and she blinked slowly before smiling tiredly at him.

"I'm tired," she told him. "still haven't caught up on my sleep from last weekend."

"Well you only have one more month, and then you get a week off before starting your third year. Then you'll really be tired."

"Thanks for the motivation," she said sarcastically.

He snaked his arm under her and pulled her to him and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're on babysitting duty," she said as she closed her eyes. "She hasn't had her nap today so she'll probably be going to sleep soon."

He looked at the little girl who stared back at him before reaching her finger out almost poking him in the eye.

"Don't start your shit kid," he told her, laughing at the end not being able to hold back his laughter. Lisa couldn't help but to laugh as she hit him playfully in the chest.

"If she starts using does words, I'm going to kick your…"

"Hey, there's a baby in the room," he said cutting her off.

Lisa only smiled sleepily, her eyes still close as she began to fall asleep.

True to her mother's word, the little girl fell asleep on his chest about thirty minutes later. He was up watching television, about to dose off himself when the phone rung.

"Hello," he said after successfully maneuvering to fish the phon out of the couch cushions, careful not to wake anyone who was currently using him as a pillow.

"Hey Greg," he heard her say from the other end of the phone.

"What's up Melanie?" he said deciding to humor her a little.

"Are you busy?"

"No, not really, why?"

"I need your help. My car doesn't want to start. I was wondering if you could pick me up and take me home."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Melanie, I told you," he said looking down at Lisa to make sure she was still asleep. It would probably be a good idea to stop saying her name he thought, "I'm not coming over."

"I'm not asking you to come over," she said sounding a little angry. "I need someone to take me home and make sure that my car gets taken care off. I don't know anything about cars and this big, greasy looking guy towed it to the shop. And since I don't know anything about cars, I was hop…,"

"Why didn't you call Steven or Travis or anyone other than me? You know Lisa doesn't…,"

"I didn't say anything about her and I told you I'm not trying to pull one over on you. I just need your help right now and if you can't do that…,"

"I can't," he almost yelled. Hayden jumped a little but continued to sleep. Melanie was quiet on the other end and he felt bad about yelling at her.

"Look let me call, Steven," he said. If he was still dating her roommate, he should be willing to go and get her. "He should be able to come and get you."

"Don't bother," she said before hanging up the phone.

He hung up the phone and Lisa stirred in his arms. "Who was that baby?" she asked with her eyes still closed. He was a little surprised and hoped she hadn't heard the whole conversation.

"Travis," he said looking at her to see if she was just testing him, "his car broke down."

After a few seconds, she seemed to have drifted off to sleep. And because she hadn't jumped up and called him a liar, he assumed she took his answer as the truth.

* * *

"Is that Hayden?" Jenn asked form the other end of the phone as Lisa walked into the living room where the little girl was conducting her current round of babbling to no one in particular. The little girl was now forming sentences, although no one could understand any of the words, so technically it was strategically arranged babbling.

Lisa smiled. "The one and only." The little girl looked up at her, eyeing the cup she had in her hand. The baby held on to the table as she started to make her way to the other side to get next to her mother and the cup she was holding.

"Aww," Jenn started. "She's loud. "

"You haven't heard anything yet," she told her as she took the cup from her mouth and prepared to let the girl taste it. She knew it wouldn't last long since Hayden would become uninterested once she realized it was water.

"I wish my baby talked that loud," Jenn said as she looked down at the sleeping bundle in her arms. "I wish my baby was awake for more than thirty minutes at a time."

"Be careful what you wish for," Lisa laughed at her. "I miss the days when all Hayden would do is sleep."

"Yeah, but she sounds more fun now," Jenn replied.

Lisa looked over at the little girl. She was more fun, but she was also more work. She got so tired of saying Hayden don't put that in your mouth, Hayden don't pull mommy's hair, Hayden don't touch that, and she knew it was only going to get worse until the little girl reached her activity peak.

She looked over at the baby and froze when she saw her let go of the table, standing on her on. She often did this now and when she did, Lisa always froze with anticipation.

Jenn was going on about something but she had blocked her out, as all of her attention went from her to the standing baby. The little girl only looked at the toy a few feet in front of her, deliberating on how she was going to get to it. After a few moments, she bent her knees a little, then fell to the floor butt first, allowing the diaper to break her fall. She then began crawling over to the toy. Lisa let out the breath she was holding and turned her attention back to her sister.

"I'm sorry Jenn, what did you say?"

"Are you listening to me?"

"No, I'm sorry," Lisa apologized, "I thought Hayden was about to start walking or at least take a step."

"She's walking too?" Jenn asked surprised.

"No, she's not walking yet," Lisa told her. "She'll take a step before falling to the floor, but that's it."

"Well she's closer to it than my baby."

"Well I would hope so or she'd be delayed," Lisa told Jenn. "Or you gave birth to super baby."

"Oh, we should get together soon, one weekend. You, me, you bring Hayden and I'll bring Alaina, and I'll call mom and ask her if she wants to go."

At first the idea sounded good, but Lisa quickly realized that a lot of shopping would be going on and she was not currently in any position to compete with her mother or sister in that area. She didn't want to go and not have any fun.

"I don't know Jenn."

"Why not?" Jenn asked surprised. It wasn't like her sister to turn down a shopping spree. "It'll be fun. Besides, I'll get to see my niece again, you'll get to see yours for the first time and mom will get to see both of her granddaughters. Of course we'll have to wait until Lani gets older. But that gives you time to open up a date in your schedule."

"I'll see Jenn," she said picking Hayden up as the baby reached for her. She began moving around and throwing things in the diaper bag. "I'll call you back and let you know. I have to get going soon."

"No," Jenn corrected her. "You'll call me back with a date."

Lisa smiled. "Okay Jenn," she said, still not sure if she'd be able to go. "I'll talk to you later."

She hung up the phone and tossed it on the couch. It would have been nice to spend some time with her mother and sister and the babies, but she just didn't know if she could afford it. She would have to talk to Greg first, but now she had to get out to his lacrosse game.

* * *

"Thanks," Lisa said as the woman handed her the candy that would calm Hayden's cranky mood if one just so happened to flair up.

"So what do I do Lise?" Lori asked what had become her best friend, clearly ready to start back on their conversation they were having earlier. She and Seth had had an argument and were currently on rocky terms.

"I don't know what to tell you to do," Lisa confessed.

"But I don't want to lose him. I love him," Lori said.

"Well stop the argument and give in to what he wants," Lisa advised.

"But I don't want to lose the fight," Lori told her. "I'm right and he's wrong."

Lisa laughed. "Well that's how it usually is. But they're stubborn so you at least have to try to compromise."

Lori sighed as they began to ascend the stands. "Relationships are hard. You and Greg never fight."

"Oh, you have no idea," Lisa laughed.

"Well how do you usually solve it?" Lori asked.

Lisa thought for a moment before replying. "Threatening him."

She and Lori both started laughing as they took their seats in front of a few girls that seemed to go to Hopkins. They looked to be about their age, but they knew for sure they weren't medical students since they knew everyone in their class and the class before them.

"Oh she's gorgeous," one of the blondes behind them said.

"Thanks" Lisa said as she smiled at them.

"What's her name?" the brunette asked.

"Hayden," Lisa told them, looking at the baby who was now laughing with one of the blondes who was playing with her.

"You're just the sweetest baby."

"Sometimes," Lisa corrected her.

They talked with the girls a little longer before each group continued their previous conversations.

Lisa and Lori busied themselves with their conversation and Hayden but soon the girls' behind them conversation became very interesting.

"They're all hot," one of the blondes said, obviously referring to the players that were currently warming up on the field.

"Well he's the hottest," the blonde with the larger breast said.

"Which one?" asked the brunette.

"Number nine," she replied.

Lisa tensed a little knowing that was Greg's number. Her eyes fell on him as he stood up talking to one of his other teammates. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face as Lori's mouth fell open as she turned to look at her. She had been expecting Lisa to say something, but after seeing the smile on her face, she knew the plan was to stay quiet and eves drop on the conversation. She turned back to the field, pretending to be preoccupied with something else as the girls continued to talk.

"You do know that he has a baby right," the brunette informed.

"And?" she replied snappily.

"And, that baby has a mother," the other blond continued. "The woman who he currently shares a home with."

"Well Melanie got him to go home with her," Busty started. "And compared to me she's a dog. I'm pretty sure I can get him if he's still talking to her."

At this comment Lori's head quickly turned towards Lisa. The smile was gone from her friends face. She couldn't really tell if she was hurt or angry. Before Lori could figure out what to say, without letting the girls know they were eaves dropping Greg came up to the fence and waved Lisa down. She forced the smile back on her face as she adjusted Hayden in her arms and got up to go down the bleachers.

"Hey," he said once she got to the fence.

"Hi," she mumbled.

"What's the matter?" he asked her as he reached for Hayden.

"Nothing," she said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear after letting go of the little girl.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because it sure seems like something is wrong."

"I'm sure," she lied. "Everything's fine. I'm just tired." Now was not the time to show her anger and confront him about this. She wanted them to be in the privacy of their on home so no one would hear him scream.

"Okay," he said, not really convinced as he started to play with Hayden. They stood and talked for a few more minutes, well he talked while she just listened and gave very short answers to everything that required her to speak. She had taken time to look back at the girls who were sitting behind them, who were now gossiping even more as their eyes grew big looking at the interaction going on before them. She smiled to herself, despite wanting to strangle the man standing on the other side of the fence.

"Hey House," David yelled from the middle of the field. "You better get your ass over hear and do some warm ups before you pull a muscle during the game old man."

"Your mom's an old man," Greg said causing David along with a few others to laugh.

"Kiss for good luck," he said looking at the little girl.

Upon hearing the word kiss, she immediately puckered her little lips and gave him a kiss. He smiled than blew a rasberry on her cheek causing her to laugh. He then handed her back to Lisa, who was about to walk away. He quickly reached across the short fence and pulled her against it.

"You too," he smiled at her as he crashed his lips into hers. She was about to pull back and , but remembered her spectators in the stands.

She grabbed the collar of his shirt with the hand that wasn't holding Hayden and deepened the kiss.

She wanted to send a message. He was hers, even if she was going kill him once they got home. They heard some whistling and yelling from a group of their friends in the stands that had decided to attend the game, causing both of them to laugh and break the kiss.

"I gotta run and do something after the game, so I'll be home about an hour after you," he told her.

She just forced a smile before turning to ascend the stands again. The girl's sitting behind them was staring until she reached her seat and looked back at them. They quickly turned away and kept their conversation neutral for the rest of the game.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked.

"I'm fine," Lisa replied, wiping a tear before it had a chance to make it all the way down her cheek.

She was pissed, but it had just registered to her that she was hurt more than anything.

* * *

"Thanks for coming pick me up," James said as they got off of the elevator. "Are you sure, she won't mind me spending the night?"

"Nah," Greg told him. "She's one of those people that like to take in stray dogs, cats, and anything else. It'll be fine."

"Gee thanks," James said as they stopped in front of one of the doors.

"No problem," Greg said sarcastically, looking back at him before unlocking the door.

Lisa had the phone in her hand, about to call him when she heard his voice in the foyer.

"I would let you sleep in the smurf's bed, but she can be a little grouchy about her stuff," she heard him say, but it didn't register to her that he had to be talking to someone, mostly because she had grown even more furious after having cried for the past thirty minutes.

Greg turned and saw her making her way towards them and the smile he had quickly turned into a concerned frown. She was coming at them so fast her disheveled curls lifted slightly from her face revealing the streaks of tears that had fallen. He and James froze and he barely managed to get out her name before she spoke.

"You son of a bitch," she yelled as she heaved the telephone at him, causing him and James to both duck.

Either they both ducked just at the right time or her aim was a little off because the phone hit the wall behind them and shattered. The two men just stared at her, Greg trying to figure out what had happened and James trying to figure out what the hell he had gotten himself into.

After missing him with the phone, she started making her way towards him again. She got in one good punch and was setting up for another, but he grabbed her arm and twisted her until he had both arms pinned to her side and her back pinned to his chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled at her.

"I think I'm gonna go," James said as he turned to try and make an escape. He'd rather take his chances with Samantha and her sister.

"Where are you going to go?" Greg asked rhetorically.

"Let go of me," Lisa said through gritted teeth as she tried to struggle from his grasp.

"It's fine," James said. "I can get a hotel, or something." He turned for the door again.

"Stay," Greg ordered looking back at him, obviously now pissed too.

"You lying bastard," Lisa spat as she kicked Greg in the shin, causing him to loosen his grip.

He quickly picked her up and carried her into the laundry room.

He put her back on the feet.

"What is wrong with…" he was quickly silenced by a hard hand to the face.

He quickly grabbed her arms again and pinned them to her side before pinning her against the washing machine.

"What is you problem?" he half yelled in Lisa's face trying to hold back his anger.

"You are my problem," she told him struggling to get away from him. "You cheating asshole."

"Cheating? What are you talking about?" he asked confused.

"You know what I'm talking about. You are still seeing that skanky bitch Melanie," she told him. "Well guess what Greg, if you want her, you can fucking have her."

"Are you fucking insane?" he asked incredulously. "I haven't even seen her since I fucking switched services two fucking months ago."

"Don't lie to me," she yelled at him.

"I'm not lying!" he told her. "Who told you this bullshit?"

"Doesn't really matter," she told him. "The fact is that you still talk to her on the telephone, so why wouldn't you be fucking her."

"Because I'm not fucking her," he yelled. "And I'm not talking on the phone with her." He wanted to kick himself.

"Really? Well how the hell did she get this number and why did she call here today. Her number was on the caller id box and I called it back and guess who answered."

He looked at her debating his next move. He was panicking; things were going really wrong really fast. "Okay," he said still staring at her intently trying to gauge her reaction to his words so he could know where to go from there, "she still calls me. I talk to her for five minutes at most..." before he could finish Lisa was making her way past him and towards the door, "but I'm not sleeping with her, nor am I seeing her on the side or whatever the hell you think is going on." She didn't answer him as he started behind her.

"Lisa," he called after her. James only looked at them as he followed the woman up the stairs.

"Lise I'm not lying to you," Greg said again disappearing into the upstairs loft. "Lisa will you just listen to me."

James felt sorry for him. He could empathize, he was almost literally in the exact same predicament. Only he was married and it was resulting in a divorce.

"Where are you going?" he heard Greg ask, as the voices became clearer again.

He looked up to see the curly haired woman approaching the stairs again with a diaper bag and a suitcase. She didn't answer him. "Where's the baby?" he tried again.

"Lisa," Greg said grabbing her hand at the bottom of the staircase. She turned to him and James was sure she would slap him again if her hands weren't full. "Look, I know you're pissed, and I know you don't believe me. And I should have told you that she had been calling me, but I promise you I'm not sleeping with her. Take whatever time you need to cool off, but please just tell me where you and the baby will be."

She stared at him for a little while longer and James could tell that she had to fight against the better part of herself to at give him at least that comfort.

"Lori's," she said before jerking her arm away from his grasp. She turned and seemingly for the first time noticed James as her brows furrowed as if asking what he was doing there.

"Hello," he smiled shyly, not knowing what else to do.

She only rolled her eyes at him and pushed pass him, leaving the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

James looked at Greg as he looked at the now closed apartment door, still trying to piece together what the hell had just happened.

"She's ummm," James started, "really nice."

Greg just looked at him for a few seconds before replying. "Shut up."

* * *

**A/N: Soooo... first off just let me say that I know it's been forever since I've updated, but I ask that you REVIEW****. Second I was thinking about starting a sequel to before he was one, but that would make three stories that I have incomplete. What do you guys think? I would really like for you guys to review this chapter first and then give me you opinions on the sequel. Poor Wilson! The debauchery in his life has already begun from these two...lol. But Please REVIEW THIS CHAPTER ****and leave your OPINIONS ****about the sequel.**


	41. Chapter 40

A/N: I got tired of studying and wanted to do something else. I would have felt too guilty actually going out and having fun when I knew I should be studying so I balanced it out and stayed home and not studied. I don't really think it's logical but it soothes the guilt of my mental laziness...lol.

* * *

He sat slouched on the sofa not really listening to the words that were spewing from the man's mouth on the television. The place just seemed so…different without them, unworthy of even being called home.

It had been four days since he had last seen her or the Hayden. He had called Lori's house that night but she had refused to talk to him. He had called the following day, and reluctantly she had taken the phone when Lori handed it to her. Unfortunately though, he didn't hear the words he wanted to hear from her. She had told him that she just needed a little time to sort out everything that was going on. He had told her that he hadn't slep with Melanie. He told her that he hadn't even touched her since that night that he dropped her off home. Her only response was "Why did you lie to me then?" He mentally kicked himself when he heard her fighting back tears on the other end of the phone.

He had again apologized and told her that he was sorry. He admitted that he should have told her that Melanie was still calling him, but he didn't want her to get upset like he knew she would. But that plan ended up backfiring on him. He knew that Melanie was a touchy subject for her because it signified a very trying time in their relationship and brought back unpleasant feelings. That was why he had tried to keep everything under wraps. He again apologized. He heard her sniff on the other end of the phone, before he heard a fussy cry in the background.

"I gotta go," she told him.

"Okay," he said reluctantly, not wanting to let her get off of the phone since she was actually talking to him, but he knew she had to go and tend to Hayden.

"I love you," he said genuinely. He only heard silence on the other end of the phone before he heard it being placed back in its cradle.

He had called back the following day, but Lori told him that she had taken Hayden to the park. He asked Lori if he could meet up with her instead. He thought maybe he could try to send a message through her. And Lori being the soft hearted person that she was couldn't help but to sympathize with him and agree to meet with him. He had told her everything, from beginning to end. All of the phone calls he could remember and every detail he could remember about them. Lori had told him that Lisa was more upset that he hid it from her, then lied about it, and that other people knew something about their relationship that she didn't. He had expressed his regrets about his decisions. Lori agreed to try to talk with Lisa, or at least tell her everything that he had just told her. He thanked her and went back to the lonely condo.

That was yesterday. Now he was sitting on the sofa twiddling his thumbs looking at the telephone. Trying to time the exact moment that she would be done with class and how long it would take her to go pick up Hayden, run a few errands, and make it back to Lori's. He wouldn't stop calling until he got her to agree to talk to him and to come back home.

She lay in bed next to Hayden, watching the little girl sleep on the body pillow. She had left school early, just because she wasn't feeling emotionally up to it. She had then gone to pick Hayden up, went back to Lori's, and cuddled the little girl until she fell asleep.

The baby let out a soft sigh in her sleep as if she was tired, causing her mother to smile. That smile became a little weaker as a few tears fell. She took her hand away from softly tracing the baby's features and wiped the tears away. She sniffed and fought against spiraling into an all out tear fest. She was a bag of mixed emotions and she hated feeling that way. She felt sad and angry. She also felt guilty for keeping Hayden away from her father. And it didn't help that after the little girl had realized she hadn't seen him in two days, she had started pointing to the front door saying "Da dee." She had been shocked and excited after realizing the little girl had actually said her first meaningful word other than "Bah" which signaled she wanted her bottle. But soon sadness sat in after realizing that the baby had almost been forced into speaking after she had been depriving her of actually seeing her father, which had not been her intention. She also didn't mean to keep him away from her, that wasn't her intention. But she needed some time apart from him and where she went, she was taking her kiddo. She grew angry with herself at the thought which only caused her to grow angrier with him for putting her in such a predicament. It also didn't help that Hayden had been cranky for the last few days, having been removed from her bed and usual surroundings.

She sniffed again and wiped her tears away with her forearm. She continued to watch the baby sleep. She looked like him. But she also looked like her a little, especially when she opened her eyes. On first glance she didn't look like either of them because she had so many features from them both that it made her look like her own little person. But if you looked for them, you could pull out little traces of features that belonged to each of her parents. She smiled again as the baby crinkled and wiggled her nose in her sleep, the dream fairies as her mom would say were probably messing with her. She continued stroking the little girl's hair until the phone that was lying on the pillow behind her started ringing. She grabbed it quickly and answered it, not wanting it to wake the sleeping child.

"Hello," she said softly.

The person on the other end answered as if surprised. "Lise?" he questioned.

She instantly picked up on his voice. She swallowed hard. "Yeah?"

"Hey," he forced out. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she told him, trying not to sound so cold. Lori had told her about their talk and everything he had said. She believed him, and she wasn't sure why that was. But the fact still remained that he had lied to her and continued to talk to the woman he had almost cheated on her with behind her back and that hurt her. Be that as it may, she couldn't keep playing these games. She wasn't nineteen anymore and she wasn't back in college with her parents supporting her and her whole life ahead of hear to do as she pleased. Sure she had her whole life ahead of her still, but she had a baby to think about now. And she also had an on and off relationship with the father of that baby for the past five years of her life, a relationship which had been remotely stable for the past two years. They shared a home, they shared each others lives. But more than anything, she loved him, and she knew that he loved her even though he could be a complete idiot sometimes.

"I miss you," he told her. "I really want to see you. We need to talk about this." She was silent on the other end of the phone, still observing the sleeping baby. "Lise," he tried again after it took her too long to respond.

"Come over to Lori's tonight," she cut him off.

"O…okay," he said after a brief pause, obviously surprised by her words. "Wh..what time?"

"Around six or seven," she told him. She knew that Lori would probably be home by then, but she could use Lori's second bedroom they had been sleeping in for privacy. Seth was supposed to be coming over but she knew Lori wouldn't mind. Plus she wanted to give herself some time to compose herself and give Hayden a chance to wake up and get back into her playful mood because she knew he would want to see her.

"Okay, see you then," he told her.

" 'Kay," she responded.

"Bye," he said in a low tone.

"Bye," she responded before hanging up the phone.

* * *

"Oh, that must be him," Lori said making a goofy face at Lisa as she ran by her and towards the door.

Lisa couldn't help but to smile at her friend as she continued to feed the little girl sitting in the chair in front of her. It seemed that Lori was more excited about them talking than she was. She knew she wasn't trying to kick them out because Lori had already told her that she wanted her and Greg to work it out soon, but she would miss having her as a roommate and miss having Hayden around to play with.

"We'll get out of you guys' way," Seth said as he got up and grabbed Lori's bag off of the table.

"Seth," Lisa said feeling a little bad, "you guys don't have to go."

Seth smiled at her. "I know, but we just wanna give you guys some space. We understand what it's like to be at odds with the person you're in a relationship with, and you guys have been together longer than us," he said referring to his and Lori's recent argument.

"Well, thanks," she said as she repositioned Hayden in the chair so she wouldn't fall. "I guess we'll see you guys later."

"See you later short stuff," Seth said putting his hand on Hayden's head to get her attention.

She looked up with a face full of sweet potatoes and reached one of her hands up. He picked her up, "You know I'm going to miss you being around here every time I come over," he said as Hayden patted his cheek.

"I haven't agreed to go back over there yet," Lisa told him with a smile. She knew that was a lie, tonight would probably be the last night she spent at Lori's.

"Well until you do," he said, "Lori isn't gonna rest."

Lisa laughed, knowing he was telling the truth. He placed Hayden back in the chair, "See you later Lisa."

"Bye," she told him as she continued to try to get Hayden to eat the rest of the jar of sweet potatoes. She heard Greg and Seth greet each other before she heard the door close. She looked up and saw him just standing there looking at them.

"Hey," he said, not really knowing what else to say. She had agreed to talk to him, but he still didn't know just how pissed off she was with him.

"Hey," she said as she put the jar of food on the table, knowing that trying to feed the little girl now was a lost cause. She had already turned around to look at him when she first heard his voice and was now just staring at him.

"Hey Smurf," he said walking over to her after seeing Lisa wasn't going to try and feed her anymore.

He reached for the little girl and she immediately held her hands up to him. He scooped her up and kissed her on her cheek. "Eww," he told her causing her to giggle, "you have sweet potato kisses."

Lisa smiled at hearing the little girl's laughter. She walked over with a paper towel and quickly wiped Hayden's face, the little girl swatting her hand away. She proceeded to clean the mess at the table, noticing that they were both avoiding saying anything directly to each other.

"I missed you," he said pressing a kiss to the baby's temple. "Daddy missed you so much."

Lisa threw the paper towel in the trash can and went towards the bedroom trying to hold back tears after hearing his admission. She felt awful for keeping them apart. She hadn't meant to, but she silently vowed to herself to at least stay in the house with him the next time they got into an argument.

She grabbed the body pillow and sat it across her lap, trying to hold back her tears.

"Can I come in," he asked standing at the entrance of the door holding Hayden.

"Yeah," she said wiping at her eyes.

It looked like she was crying, but he couldn't really tell since she hadn't turned the light on. The only light in the room was coming through the window and the sun was about to set in the next few minutes.

He stayed silent as he walked over to the bed and sat down. Even Hayden was being quiet. She must have sensed the tension between them.

"Lise," he said adjusting Hayden in his arms as the little girl settled her head on his shoulder and looked at her mother, trying to figure out what was going on. "I really am sorry for not telling you what was going on. But I swear to you I never slept with her."

She just looked at him for a while before looking down at her fingernails.

"I'm not lying to you," he started again, "I was…

"I know," she said cutting him off. He was quiet as he stared at her, waiting for her to say something else, but she continued to play with her fingers for a few more seconds. It wasn't until Hayden let out a sigh that she spoke again.

"Why did you lie to me?" she asked him. That was the one thing she had wanted to know. She had done enough investigating, mainly through Donna, to know that he was telling the truth about not having slept with or met with Melanie outside of work. But it still bothered her that he had lied. It made her feel that he had an emotional connection with this woman and that he would lie to her in order to protect that.

He took a deep breath and blew it out. "Because I'm stupid," he said as he began rubbing Hayden's back. "I knew it would upset you if you knew she was still calling. I begged her to stop calling, but she wouldn't. I thought I could handle it, make her stop without having to drag you into this. And then when you found out and went crazy on me, I kinda just lost it and just wanted you to calm down enough to talk to me and not leave. But I guess that backfired."

"You didn' have to lie to me," she told him, finally looking up at him as the tears started to spill from her eyes. She still felt it was something there for him to even entertain the other woman.

"Lise," he said sitting Hayden down on the bed next to them, "I'm sorry." He pulled her closer to him and suprisingly she wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled inwardly despite himself, realizing that his hope of having her and Hayden back home before the weekend wasn't a false hope. He could still kick himself though for making her cry.

He looked down at the baby, who sat staring at her mother before looking to him. He smiled to reassure her but she only turned back to her mother with the same unsure look on her face.

"Come here," he said taking one arm from around Lisa and scooping Hayden up.

She continued staring before pointing one of her little fingers at Lisa, "Ma mee?" she questioned looking at he father.

Lisa quickly pulled away from Greg and stared at the baby. She had been trying to get the little girl to say Mommy since she had heard her utter the word 'Da dee' a few days ago, but the baby had never complied.

"What'd you just say?" Lisa asked looking at Hayden as if expecting the girl to answer her.

Hayden realizing her mother didn't seem as sad anymore, just surprised, which she mistook for happiness, she looked at her father and laughed. "Ma mee," she repeated as if letting him know it was a false alarm and her mother was okay.

Greg only smiled at them as she took the little girl from his arm and kissed her on her cheek before proceeding to tell him how it was her first time saying it, as if a complete stranger couldn't tell from her reaction. He was happy now, because even though she was sad only moments ago, she was on cloud nine right now. Even Hayden's doubt had gone as the little girl giggled and squealed as her mother tickled her tummy and showered her with kisses.

Lisa glanced up and spotted the phone. She reached over and grabbed.

"Who are you calling?" Greg asked her, laughing at her.

"Jenn," she told him with a smile. "She's going to be so jealous."

* * *

"This bed is extremely fluffy," Greg said.

Lisa smiled up at him as she snuggled closer into him. The rest of the night had gone well. They had talked a little bit more about the whole Melanie situation and him lying to her before Seth and Lori came home. They had ordered pizza and watched a movie. They had decided to stay the night at Lori's though since it was late when they finished watching the movie and they didn't feel like packing up all of Hayden's things. They were currently lying in the bed in Lori's second bedroom that Lisa and Hayden had been staying in for the last few days. The bed was really fluffy. Lori had told her she slept in the bed when she was sad and upset because it was comfier than her other bed. It was probably due to the massive amounts of feather pillows, the down comforter, and the extra soft mattress.

"I'm sorry I punched you," she told him, "and kicked you," she continued, "and slapped you… and threw the phone at your head."

"Okay I get it," Greg said not wanting to relive that night.

Lisa smiled then remembered something. "Oh, how is your friend?" she asked him. "I should apologize to him."

"He's scarred," Greg said with a smile, "but he'll be okay. He just thinks that you belong in a mental institution."

She couldn't help but to laugh. "I'm sorry," she told him still laughing, "he's not going to want to be your friend anymore." She continued laughing, thinking about the impression that she must have left on the poor man.

"You're so goofy," he said smiling at her amusement at the whole situation."But I love you."

"Aww," she told him putting a hand on the side of his face, "you're such a suck up." She placed a kiss on his lips before pulling back and looking into his eyes.

She heard the sleeping baby sigh behind her and another smile came to her face as she turned her back to him and faced a sleeping Hayden.

"I still can't believe she said Mommy," she said rubbing the little girls back.

Greg scoffed. "I still can't believe you called your sister and taunted her, then proceeded to tell her her baby was stupid."

She started laughing again. "I was joking with her, she knows that," she said placing a kiss on Hayden's cheek. "I love Lani, even if I've never seen her." She paused for a moment before turning back over to him. "Oh, that reminds me," she said, "Jenn wants us to get together sometime soon to go shopping in New York."

"New York? Don't you go shopping enough here," he asked her.

"Greg," she said hitting him playfully in the chest and looking up at him expectantly.

"Okay," he gave, "what does this have to do with me?"

"Well I wanted to see what you thought about it before I told her yes," she admitted.

He smiled at her, "Well I really don't think I am in a position right now to say no, am I?"

"Nope," she smiled.

"When is this shopping trip supposed to take place?" he asked. He decided it wouldn't be too bad on them financially to let her have a free weekend to go shopping with her mother and sister. He would finish his residency June thirtieth and he'd be making a lot more money. He was still paying back loans, but they had been surviving on his previous salary, so they could definitely do a little extra with the extra money he would be earning.

"I have to call her back with a date," she said. "Probably the end of June, a few weeks before Hayden's birthday and right after I take this god awful exam."

"Oh you'll do fine," he told her as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "And if all else fails just do like I did in med school. Cheat."

"That's awful," she told him laughing a little.

"No, the awful part is they let me back in for residency, Suckers," he said.

"I'm just happy that they decided to keep you after residency so we didn't have to relocate and I don't have to worry about transferring or about us being separated," she told him. This had been a huge worry of hers, but luckily everything had worked out. Not that they didn't think that the hospital would want to keep him, but there was always a slight chance of the unpredictable happening, and an even bigger chance of Greg screwing up and causing them to get rid of him.

"Yeah," he told her, "they know awesomeness when they see it."

"Yeah I guess you're right," she told him. "They knew if they got rid of you they would loose me."

He smiled down at her. "Oh, you're so full of yourself."

He kissed her and she pulled back and sighed, her hands still clinging to his shirt. Then all of a sudden it hit her again and she let go of him abruptly and turned away from him, pulling the sleeping baby closer to her. "My baby said Mommy," she said, and you could hear that she was grinning.

"Oh brother," Greg said, knowing that she wasn't going to let that go for the next few days, or until she got used to hearing the little girl say it.

* * *

Lisa awoke to the usual babbling and movement of a little person next to her in the bed. She didn't open her eyes though, knowing it would be all the baby needed to get into a playful mood where she wouldn't let her rest anymore. She felt the little girl crawling closer to her as she said 'Da dee'.

Greg had his arm wrapped around her and Hayden took it upon herself to reach over her mother and touch her father's face. Lisa still hadn't opened her eyes, but she knew the girl was disturbing Greg as he stirred a little and his grip tightened around her waist. "Da dee," the little girl said again trying to get him to open his eyes. She heard a smack, and held back her laughter, but Greg only groaned.

"Da, da," she heard Hayden saying in a lower voice. She felt the little girl's cheek brush up against hers and she got closer to Greg's face. "Da dee," she said again in a low tone.

"What?" she heard him say and couldn't help but to laugh out loud. He had teased her so much the night before about being excited, but she knew he was about to react the same way she had.

"Did she just say what I think she said?" he asked Lisa as she turned on her back and looked up at the smile on his face. Before she could say anything the little girl sat back on her hunches and threw her hands in the air.

"Da dee," she exclaimed in a high pitched tone.

"Lise she said Daddy," he said as he reached over her to get to the little girl.

"I heard her," she told him, not as excited as him because the little girl had been saying Daddy for a few days now. But she wouldn't let him know that she said Daddy before she said Mommy.

"I think someone just earned themselves a bowl of ice cream for breakfast," he said shifting to get up.

"Don't you dare," Lisa said as she wrapped her arm around him to keep him lying down.

"Why can't I give her ice cream?" he said almost pouting.

"You can give her ice cream later on today," she told him. "She'll get a stomach ache."

He frowned at her then turned to the baby. "Mommy's a party pooper," he told her.

The little girl only grinned and rubbed her hand against his scruffy cheek. "Ma mee," she repeated after him.

Lisa smiled. "We can go out to eat for lunch, and she can have ice cream then."

"Oh, so she can have ice cream for saying Mommy but not Daddy?" he said.

"I don't care what she says," she told him as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, "she cannot have ice cream at seven thirty in the morning."

She looked back at him and smiled when he poked his tongue out at her. "Come on baby," she said taking Hayden from him. "Let's go get you some real breakfast."

* * *

A/N: Okay there it is. I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review.

I remember one question asking about their sex life. They still have a sex life, just not as active as it was in the beginning. They went from undergrad/med student to med student/resident/parents which means not only would they not have as much time for a sex life, but not as much time for a life of any kind outside of school/work and taking care of a baby. The smut will pick back up, I just wanted to give them time to get a little used to handling all of the responsibilities and for Hayden to not need as much around the clock tending too to make it a little more realistic. I know you are thinking well it is not realistic for her to be a resident with an infant and a toddler (which will eventually happen) but surprisingly it is very realistic. I have heard some stories and I was like WTF. I feel like I'm neglecting myself and I'm just in grad school. How the hell do you take care of extra people and still like, less known love the other person you're living with. But again I've heard some stories and I'm still trying to figure out how they did it. And I'm talking more than just two kids from the start to the end of residency and both parents were residents. At least House will have more control over his schedule in this story once Madison comes along and Cuddy will have a lot of time when she is first born too since she'll have her during her fourth year. And don't forget about Logan and his parents that will be coming into the picture around the time Cuddy starts residency. But the smut will pick back up, it has to, or else there would be no Madison...lol. The only question is, how will they screw up this time to get Cuddy pregnant again...stay tuned to find out.


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